South Korea plans to create border guard brigades — Korea Herald
South Korea’s army plans to gradually create specialized units to guard the border with North Korea, while introducing artificial intelligence-based surveillance systems. As Korea Herald reports, the reorganization is to take place amid a reduction in the number of military personnel.
Phased reorganization
First, the army will create Guard Post, or GOP, security groups at the division level. The first such groups are to begin operating on October 1, 2027, within the 5th and 22nd Infantry Divisions. After assessing their performance, the military plans to move on to forming GOP security brigades at the corps level.
Currently, brigades within frontline divisions take turns carrying out GOP security tasks. The new structure envisages that specialized units will take over these functions, while combat units in the forward defense area behind the posts will be able to focus on training and maintaining combat readiness.
Focus on automated surveillance
The reform is part of a plan to shift labor-intensive GOP and coastal security operations to AI-enabled surveillance systems. The modernization of the frontline border surveillance system is planned to be completed by 2028, while an AI-based border operations management system is to be created by 2033.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
The Ministry of Defense also seeks to reduce the number of personnel involved in border security from about 22,000 to 6,000 by 2040.
Security issues in the demilitarized zone
The issue of border security was discussed amid attention to operations in the demilitarized zone and their coordination by the South Korean military and the United Nations Command. Under the terms of the 1953 Armistice Agreement, the United Nations Command is responsible for monitoring compliance with the armistice and access to the southern part of the demilitarized zone.
During a parliamentary inspection, mine explosions on September 21 in the demilitarized zone were also mentioned, injuring three South Korean servicemen, two of them seriously. The military personnel were clearing a route for a joint inspection by South Korea and the United Nations Command near the Military Demarcation Line. A joint investigation concluded that North Korean anti-personnel mines made of resin had been deliberately placed south of this line, in violation of the Armistice Agreement.
