National Posture Review, 2022

The New World - the Democratic Union’s Interaction With The World At Large

The newly unified Democratic Union of Korea finds itself, as of 2022, in a drastically changed world. A new normal of the “hyperstate” has taken hold, with the most notable changes impacting the Democratic Union being the following changes:

• Japan has integrated Taiwan, the Philippines, Hawaii, and a number of Pacific islands
• China has integrated Myanmar
• Nusantra has integrated Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, and Brunei
• Australia has integrated New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and a number of Pacific islands
• The United States of America has disintegrated, specifically:
  • A Californian state, focused on the Pacific, has risen - however, power projection capabilities into the Pacific are questionable given the loss of Pearl Harbor
  • A large state, stretching from the Western states of Oregon and Washington to the Midwestern states of Ohio and Kentucky, has risen - however, the Pacific coastline of this nation is small, and attention is most likely to be focused on the North American continent

With these changes, the Democratic Union of Korea is faced with the following prospects:

1) The historic ally of South Korea, the United States of America, no longer exists, and as of right now, no replacement on the North American continent exists;

2) The historic allies of North Korea, Russia and China, have their attention drawn to (likely) bigger issues - in Ukraine and Western Europe for Russia, and in the new Central Asian hyperstate, Mughalistan, and India for China;

To be clear, there is no such thing as a reliable ally of Korea in this new world order. Even countries that may’ve been inclined to support either the North or South previously and remain largely unchanged by the collapse of the international world order (see: China) may be hesitant to work with the new hybrid regime. With this in mind, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs advocates for a strong, two-pronged approach to diplomacy in the new world.

The first is seeking alliances in the more official, traditional sense. Military alliances, defense pacts, economic trade agreements, cooperation on R&D - all of it still has a valuable part to play. However. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expects that this traditional sense of diplomacy and international interaction will be considerably less prominent now, and promotes a limited usage of this form of diplomacy, only with close, regional allies. The Ministry believes that Nusantara, already a partner on our KF-21 project, as well as potentially the People’s Republic of China and the state of Oceania, will be the few targets of this. A small diplomatic presence should likely be included in Japan, the Commonwealth of Sovereign State, the Viet Order, India, California, and the Triumvirate Republic.

The second is a less formal approach, led by the chaebols of South Korea. These mega-corporations, such as Samsung, LG Corporation, Hyundai Motor Group, Hyundai Heavy Industries, SG Group, GS Group, Hanwha, and hundreds of other similarly large and influential corporations, were a major player in achieving Korean reunification. With tendrils in the avenue of automobile manufacturing, heavy industry, electronics, construction, defense, energy, and more, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs advises working closely with the chaebols to advance Korean geopolitical goals via soft power. As part of the terms negotiated with Korean reunification, these corporations are given full leave to pursue their own profit-driven interests. However, the Ministry firmly believes that chaebols should also be encouraged to seek projects that directly advance political goals - whether that should be through subsidies to encourage chaebols to take up politically-beneficial-yet-financially-undesirable contracts or similar means.

National Survival - A Review of Korea’s National Defense

The militaries of both the former DPRK and the former RoK were instrumental in achieving reunification once the international order collapsed, and will be similarly influential in maintaining Korea’s survival as a nation.

Korea is surrounded by countries that have the potential to pose a crippling threat to national security. The PRC and the CSS, while not unfriendly, are countries with a massive population pool and a massive defense industry. Should either wish to militarily attack Korea, defending the nation will be a major struggle. To the East, the already formidable Japan has gained the equally formidable Taiwan, Philippines, and Hawaii. While Japan isn’t currently a threat, a close eye should be kept on them. Korea does not have a good history with Japan, much less a resurgent Japan that has recently expanded.

The Ministry of National Defense, in coordination with the Supreme Chairman of the Union Military, recommends the following policies:

• Self-reliance
  • The Democratic Union of Korea should not place its trust in other nations and their willingness to supply raw materials, machine parts, or military equipment. The Democratic Union is more than equipped to function with a high degree of self-reliance, and an emphasis on domestic equipment should be placed.
• Conscription
  • The South Korean model of conscription should be maintained. It allows the Democratic Union to maintain a high degree of military readiness, the option to institute widespread and more restrictive conscription measures in times of major conflict, and is less directly harmful to individuals than other conscription models.
• Abandon Exports
  • The Democratic Union of Korea should, effective immediately, enforce a ban on military equipment exports, military equipment export licenses, and the addition of partners to projects - with a few key exceptions on matters, dealt with on a case-by-case basis. This is to facilitate the usage of Korean materials, Korean equipment, and Korean expertise for Korean defense - not for the defense of other foreign nations.

These three key pillars are only the beginning of a new military policy in the Democratic Union. Aside from striving to meet these beginning goals, the Ministry of National Defense and the Supreme Chairman of the Union Military has selected the following procurement and development projects as vital to the national interest.

• K2 Black Panther Product Improvement Program (PIP)
• K1E1 upgrade program
• K1A2 upgrade program
• K31 Infantry Fighting Vehicle
• K200A2/future APC
• K808 APC Acquisition
• Field Artillery/Self-propelled Artillery replacements
• L-SAM/KM-SAM
• KF-21
• MUAV
• Potential AEGIS replacement
• CVX-class aircraft carrier
• KSS Phase III completion
• KDX completion
• FFX completion

Lastly, a major concern of the Korean National Defense Forces is the integration of the former-KPA and the former-ROK Armed Forces. When an attitude of antagonism and conflict has been fostered between the North and South for so long, it will be an inevitable challenge to integrate these forces into a coherent body. But it must be done.

First, a large scale education program will take place - applied equally to all members of the KNDF - about the necessity of a single, unified defense force against the enemies of Korea. The goal will be to gradually establish an integrated officers corps and, later on, integrated brigades.

[m: most of this is roleplay - however, the event role will be for the education program]