S. Korea to facelift armed posts facing N. Korea to demonstrate upper hand By Sam Kim

SEOUL, Jan. 7 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will shell out billions of won over the next two years to renovate frontline military posts in a show of its superiority over North Korea in resources, officials said Wednesday.

The decision by the Ministry of National Defense comes after a group of lawmakers
toured the Joint Security Area (JSA) straddling South and North Korea in October.
According to defense officials who spoke on customary condition of anonymity, the
legislators complained of a lack of modernization of the guard posts compared to
recently renovated North Korean ones.
The JSA is the only part of the Demilitarized Zone guarded by both Koreas, which
fought the 1950-53 Korean War that ended in a truce, and comprises armed posts to
monitor the opposing sides.
The officials said the South Korean defense ministry plans to spend 2.2 billion
won (US$1.7 million) starting this year in modernizing six of its guard posts in
the JSA and 5 billion won (US$3.8 million) in revamping nearby army barracks. The
plan also includes erecting facilities for physical exercise, the official added.
"We hope that the renovations will also help boost the morale of our soldiers,"
an official said.
samkim@yna.co.kr