By Park Si-soo
Staff Reporter

The government plans to replace soldiers with maritime police officers to guard coastal areas and, in the process, reduce the number of personnel by 60 percent by 2014, a source who is familiar with the plan told The Korea Times Tuesday.

The source, who is involved in the replacement plan, expressed his concern that it may leave coastal areas vulnerable to contingencies such as infiltration by commandos, drug traffickers and illegal immigrants.

At present, around 11,150 Army personnel, mostly conscripts, are engaged in coast guard duty, but they will be replaced by around 4,500 career maritime police officers, he said.

However, the Army will still be responsible for the coastal areas near the border with North Korea, from the Northern Limit Line (NLL) to Incheon in the West Sea and to Goseong in Gangwon Province in the East Sea, the source added.

"The plan is being pushed ahead after approval from Cheong Wa Dae," he said. He did not rule out the possibility that the reduction in the number may compromise coastal security.

"The plan is to help the Army concentrate on war-deterrent operations by holding maritime police liable for coastal guard duty," he said.

Kim Chul-hwan, a spokesman for the Korea Coast Guard, said the plan is taking shape in talks with the Ministry of Justice, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and other related ministries, but added that nothing has yet been fixed.

The Army currently deploys radars capable of monitoring areas 12 miles away from shore and mobile nighttime heat detectors at guard posts along the coastline.

"Most guard posts will likely be closed under the plan. Instead, the Coast Guard's special strike force will be organized to be dispatched for emergencies in coastal areas," Kim said. "We have heavily-armed speedboats that the Army doesn't have. Given this, the transition does not mean security will be made lax after the plan is put into practice."

The transition is part of the government's effort to restructure the Armed Forces for better security at a lower cost.

In May, the ministry unveiled a plan to put together the 1st and 3rd Armies ― responsible for border areas ― by 2015.

The Navy and Army came under fire for incompetency last month when a North Korean ship with 11 defectors crossed the NLL in the East Sea and approached a southern beach in Gangwon Province without being checked. Several high-ranking military officers responsible for guarding the coast were disciplined.

pss@koreatimes.co.kr