Korea's military will have a surplus of conscripts from next year after the mandatory military service period for drafted Army soldiers was shortened by three months to 21 months, officials said Monday.
However, the military will face a gradual shortage of conscripts from 2021 as the nation's birthrate continues to fall, officials at the defense ministry said.
There will be an extra 34,000 to 63,000 conscripts per year compared to the amount the country's 650,000-strong military is required to have between 2012 and 2020, but the reduction of the military service duration is expected to eventually cut the number of soldiers to 500,000 by 2020, according to the ministry.
"To resolve the issue of excessive conscripts, the ministry is weighing a range of options," a ministry official said.
The reduction of the military service duration is part of the 73-point, 10-year military reform measures unveiled by Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin last week.
The measures call for an early introduction of spy drones and stealth fighters and a 15 percent cut in the number of general-grade officers to make the Army-dominated military slimmer but more efficient.
All physically and mentally fit young South Korean men are required to serve in the military, which stands against North Korea's 1.1 million-member armed forces. The two Koreas remain technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a cease-fire, not a peace treaty. (Yonhap)