South Korea’s military is moving to use artificial intelligence to analyze the training records of about 1.7 million reservists each year, as it seeks to strengthen reserve forces amid a shrinking pool of active-duty personnel.
The Defense Ministry recently commissioned a study on building an AI-based system to collect and analyze reserve training data, according to military officials Tuesday.
South Korea has about 2.56 million reservists, of whom roughly 1.7 million take part in annual mobilization and training programs.
While the military has accumulated large volumes of training records each year, it has lacked an integrated system to systematically collect, classify and analyze the information to help improve the training and related policies, the officials explained. “The importance of reserve forces is growing as the standing force declines due to demographic changes,” a Defense Ministry official said.
“Reservists are expected to become combat-ready immediately upon mobilization in wartime, but data from the training of some 1.7 million participants each year has not been systematically accumulated and analyzed.”
Under the project, the ministry plans to examine how training data is generated, stored and managed, and identify areas where information may be lost. The study will also seek to establish standardized indicators for measuring training performance.
Another key task is designing a database that can link individual reservists’ training histories with information such as their military specialties, laying the groundwork for future AI-based analysis.
The ministry said such a system could eventually be used to develop customized training programs for individual reservists and improve wartime mobilization assignments.
The study will also examine potential security risks from using commercial AI and cloud technologies, as military training data is handled through closed internal networks, and propose safeguards where necessary.
The push comes as South Korea places greater emphasis on reserve forces amid a demographic decline that is steadily reducing the number of active-duty troops.
According to the Defense Ministry, South Korea maintains about 3.1 million reserve personnel under its broader wartime manpower calculations.
North Korea, by comparison, is estimated to have about 7.62 million reserve personnel, including members of its Reserve Military Training Units and paramilitary organizations.
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