Editing Republic of Korea Armed Forces (section)

===ROK Army===
{{main|Republic of Korea Army}}


The ROK Army (ROKA) is by far the largest of the military branches, with about 420,000 personnel as of 2020. This comes as a response to both the mountainous terrain native to the [[Korea|Korean Peninsula]] (70% mountainous) as well as the heavy North Korean presence, with its 1-million-strong army, two-thirds of which is permanently garrisoned in the frontline near the [[Korean Demilitarized Zone|DMZ]]. The current administration has initiated a program of self-defense, whereby South Korea would be able to fully counter the North Korean threat with purely domestic means by about 2030.

The ROK Army was formerly organized into three armies: the First Army (FROKA), Third Army (TROKA) and Second Operational Command each with its own headquarters, corps (not Second Operational Command), and divisions. The Third Army was responsible for the defense of the capital as well as the western section of the DMZ. The First Army was responsible for the defense of the eastern section of the DMZ whereas the Second Operational Command formed the rearguard.

[[File:Panmunjeom DMZ.png|thumb|right|South Korean soldiers at the [[Joint Security Area]] (JSA) between the blue buildings, with North Korea in the background]]

Under a restructuring plan aimed at reducing redundancy, the First and Third Armies will be incorporated into the newly formed First Operations Command, whereas the Second ROK Army has been converted into the Second Operational Command. The army consists of the Army Headquarters, the Aviation Command, and the Special Warfare Command, with 9 corps, 36 divisions, some 464,000 troops and estimated as many as 5,850 tanks and armored vehicles, 11,337 artillery systems, 7,032 missile defense systems and 13,000 infantry support systems.<ref name="globalbearings.net2"/>

The army will take the brunt of the personnel reduction part of the Defense Reform 307. Associated with this personnel reduction would be a significant reduction in the ROK Army force structure, in particular decreasing the current force of 47 divisions (active duty and reserve) down to a force of about 28 divisions.