SEOUL: South Korea’s military shrank by 20 percent in the past six years to 450,000 troops, largely due to a sharp drop in the population of males of enlistment age for mandatory service in the country with the world’s lowest birthrate, a report said on Sunday. The dramatic decline in the pool of available males for military service is also causing a shortfall in the number of officers and could result in operational difficulty if it continues, the defense ministry said in the report. The report was made to the ruling Democratic Party member of parliament Choo Mi-ae, whose office released it.

World’s lowest birthrate leaves Seoul 50,000 troops short of maintaining defence readiness, report warns

Shrinking number of males of enlistment age and low birth rates fuel concerns about national defence capabilities, report finds