[Yang Nak-gyu's Defence Club] The Shells Lent to the US Are 'WRSA-Ktan'

Ammunition Deployed by the US on the Korean Peninsula for Wartime Preparedness
Purchased by Our Government but Lent Back to the US Government

Our government is reportedly set to lend the Korean War Reserve Stockpile Ammunition (WRSA-K) to the United States. WRSA-K refers to the ammunition that the U.S. brought to Korea over a five-year period starting in 1974 in preparation for wartime situations on the Korean Peninsula.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

On the 12th, a government official stated, “We are currently discussing the lending of WRSA-K ammunition, including 500,000 rounds of 155mm shells held by our military.”

In 1974, the U.S. deployed WRSA-K ammunition in South Korean military depots in preparation for wartime scenarios on the Korean Peninsula. Ammunition deployed on the peninsula is called WRSA-K, while that deployed in Israel is called WRSA-I. WRSA-K ammunition includes over 280 types of old rifles, shells, bombs, and missiles, amounting to approximately 600,000 tons valued at 5 trillion won. It accounts for 90% of the war reserve stockpile.

However, starting in 2003, the U.S. decided to dispose of all WRSA ammunition worldwide in line with the Military Transformation and the Global Posture Review (GPR) concerning the redeployment of overseas U.S. forces. The main reason was the enormous cost of managing WRSA ammunition. The U.S. established a WRSA-K disposal law in 2003, which came into effect at the end of 2005.

Subsequently, in 2008, the U.S. planned to transport WRSA-K ammunition back to the mainland for disposal but requested negotiations with our government due to the high transportation and disposal costs. The U.S. side demanded that Korea purchase the WRSA ammunition at a “fair market value” as stipulated by law, and the negotiations were concluded.

The reason the U.S. has now requested to borrow WRSA-K ammunition is that the ongoing war in Ukraine, which began in February last year, has sharply depleted the U.S. stockpile of 155mm shells. It is also difficult to export ammunition produced by domestic defense companies. The annual production volume by domestic defense firms is only about 50,000 to 100,000 rounds of old 155mm shells and 80,000 rounds of new 155mm shells.

If our government provides WRSA-K ammunition, it would mean that ammunition originally produced in the U.S. would return to the homeland after about 50 years. However, since our government holds ownership of the WRSA-K ammunition, it is believed that providing shells to Ukraine without consent would be difficult. The plan is not to send WRSA-K ammunition directly to Ukraine but to first replenish U.S. military reserves with it and then support Ukraine with the U.S. military’s existing shells.

A government official said, “WRSA-K ammunition can be used at any time by simply replacing the propellant,” adding, “We cannot disclose which ammunition and how much will be lent.”