Defense minister clarifies comments on border troop reduction, emphasizes 'gradual' change
Published: 09 Apr. 2026, 18:35
![Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back speaks during a parliamentary meeting at the National Assembly in western Seoul on April 9. [NEWS1]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/04/09/fb931f78-8bca-4ecd-8797-22a7f33d78c6.jpg)
Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back speaks during a parliamentary meeting at the National Assembly in western Seoul on April 9. [NEWS1]
Earlier this week, Ahn told reporters that the Defense Ministry plans to cut the number of troops deployed at general posts near the inter-Korean border to 6,000 from the current 22,000 by replacing them with surveillance systems equipped with AI technology.
His remarks spawned concerns that the number of troops at border units could be sharply reduced in a short period of time, causing a possible vacuum in the military's surveillance capabilities.
"[The planned reduction in troops] was a goal to be executed by the year 2040 after phased review,” Ahn wrote in a Facebook post.
"[The plan] should not be understood with the same alarm that suggests that [our] troops are shrinking tomorrow,” he said.
The defense chief also said the efficient and scientific management of surveillance operations in border units is a “mandate, not a choice” in a time of sweeping demographic changes. Korea is bracing for a drastic population decline, which will create a drop in military troop numbers in a country where all able-bodied men are mandated to serve at least 18 months.
Ahn earlier stressed the need to revamp the structure of the armed forces, such as introducing a selective conscription system, as part of efforts to tackle the country's demographic challenges.
Yonhap
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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