Defense chief says plan to cut border unit troops to be executed 'gradually' by 2040

Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back said Thursday that his ministry plans to reduce the number of troops deployed to border units "gradually" by 2040, dismissing concerns about a sharp cut in such personnel in a short period of time. 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 some 6,000 from the current 22,000 by replacing them with surveillance systems equipped with artificial intelligence 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 translated with the same alarm that suggests (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

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