Korea's military postpones launch of reserve force command

South Korea's defense ministry has delayed the creation of an Army command tasked with mobilizing reserve forces, officials said Thursday.

The move is in line with the Moon Jae-in administration's wider plan to reform the nation's 625,000-strong troops confronting North Korea's 1.1 million armed forces.

Early this year, the ministry announced a plan to establish the new unit, named the Mobilization Force Command. It was reported to then Acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn, who was in charge of state affairs on behalf of former President Park Geun-hye.

It's aimed at streamlining the process of mobilizing 3.1 million reserve forces in the South, currently controlled by the Ministry of National Defense and the Army's headquarters together.
 

The role of the nation's reserve forces is expected to grow in national defense, as the military is working to reduce the number of active-duty troops to 522,000 by 2022 and instead to upgrade major weapon systems.

The ministry planned to launch the command, led by a two-star Army general, in Yongin, Gyeonggi Province, on Oct. 1, when the country marks the Armed Forces Day.

But the ministry has halted related preparations.

"An across-the-board review is under way on the structure of the military organizations by the defense reform task force," a ministry official said. "The issue of creating the Mobilization Force Command will be included in the Defense Reform 2.0 project."

Defense reform is the left-leaning president's key policy agenda. Moon picked Song Young-moo, a former Navy chief, as his first defense minister.

Song took office in mid-July as the leader of the nation's military that's traditionally dominated by the Army. (Yonhap)