• Journal of International Area Studies (JIAS)
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• v.14 no.4
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• pp.27-52
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• 2011

The regions of Central Asia have each acquired an elevated strategic importance in the new security paradigm of post-September 1lth. Comprised of five states, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, Central Asia's newly enhanced strategic importance stems from several other factors, ranging from trans-national threats posed by Islamic extremism, drug production and trafficking, to the geopolitical threats inherent in the region's location as a crossroads between Russia, Southwest Asia and China. Although the U.S. military presence in the region began before September 11th, the region became an important platform for the projection of U.S. military power against the Taliban in neighboring Afghanistan. The analysis goes on to warn that 'with US troops already in place to varying extents in Central Asian states, it becomes particularly important to understand the faultlines, geography, and other challenges this part of the world presents'. The Kyrgyz military remains an embryonic force with a weak chain of command, the ground force built to Cold War standards, and an almost total lack of air capabilities. Training, discipline and desertion - at over 10 per cent, the highest among the Central Asian republics - continue to present major problems for the creation of combat-effective armed forces. Kyrgyzstan has a declared policy of national defence and independence without the use of non-conventional weapons. Kyrgyzstan participates in the regional security structures, such as the Collective Security Treaty Organisation (CSTO) and the Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) but, in security matters at least, it is dependent upon Russian support. The armed forces are poorly trained and ill-equipped to fulfil an effective counter-insurgency or counter-terrorist role. The task of rebuilding is much bigger, and so are the stakes - the integrity and sovereignty of the Kyrgyz state. Only democratization, the fight against corruption, reforms in the military and educational sectors and strategic initiatives promoting internal economic integration and national cohesion hold the key to Kyrgyzstan's lasting future

• Convergence Security Journal
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• v.18 no.3
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• pp.123-132
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• 2018

North Korea's cyber warfare capability is becoming a serious security threat to Korea because most of the operational systems of social infrastructure and advanced weapons system are all networked. Therefore, the purpose of this article is to examine what the Korean government should do to strengthen cyber security capabilities toward North Korea. For this purpose, this article analyzed North Korea's cyber attack cases against Korea by categorizing according to threat type and purpose. The research findings are as follows. It is necessary first, to have aggressive cyber protection and attack capabilities; second, to establish an integrated cyber security control tower that can be overseen by the national government; third, to need to legislate domestic cyber- related laws; fourth, to build a multilateral & regional cyber cooperation system. The implication of these findings are that it needs to be strengthened the cyber security capability from the cyber threats of North Korea by minimizing the damage during the peacetime period and for the complete warfare in case of emergency.