The media learned about the reduction in the size of the South Korean army by 20 in six years.%

The number of South Korean armed forces has decreased by 20% over the past six years to 450,000 troops due to a sharp decline in the number of men of military age. This was reported on August 10 by Reuters, citing data from the country's Ministry of Defense.

The South Korean Ministry of Defense stated in its report that the sharp decline in the number of men suitable for military service is also leading to a shortage of officers and may lead to operational difficulties.

The number of South Korean armed forces has been steadily declining since the early 2000s, when the country had about 690,000 troops. In the late 2010s, the rate of reduction accelerated, and in 2019, the number of active soldiers was about 563 thousand people.

According to government forecasts, the country's population, which peaked at 51.8 million in 2020, will decrease to 36.2 million by 2072.

They hit their own: the South Korean Air Force dropped bombs on residential buildings

As a result of pilot error, 15 people were injured.

On August 4, the South Korean Ministry of Defense began removing loudspeakers for propaganda broadcasts towards the DPRK in order to reduce "inter-Korean tensions." Yonhap noted that South Korean President Lee Jae-myung ordered back in June to "restore trust" to suspend the very broadcast of propaganda speeches directed towards the DPRK.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.