[Courtesy of COLTELLERIE FOX]
SEOUL -- A military project to buy Italian knives for South Korea's special forces brigades has been shelved in a dispute over suitability for one-on-one duels.
Military authorities have decided to conduct a complete enumeration survey of soldiers after canceling a scheduled auction this week to select a "Survival Knife" provider, military officials said, adding a free contract would be held, reflecting the opinion of actual users.
There have been complaints among experts and special forces brigade members since FOX Knives of Italy was selected as a strong candidate last year. For a test run, a FOX Knives model was handed out to 200 soldiers in November.
However, many soldiers agreed the selected Italian knife was not suitable for duels mainly because of its hollow and thick cylindrical hilt that contained a wire cutter and several other small survival tools inside. Military experts think the demand for unnecessary functions inside the hilt led to a high price and weak durability. The special warfare command has upgraded weapons and equipment for its members.
Modeled after American Green Berets, South Korea has seven special forces units under the special warfare command for guerrilla warfare, special reconnaissance, collecting information in enemy territory and carrying out special missions. Each brigade has about 600 personnel who undergo specialized training in weapons handling and parachuting.
In December last year, a new "decapitation" brigade consisting of about 1,000 commandos armed with special weapons suitable for air, sea and underwater infiltration was formed for assassination missions.
The new brigade would carry out its contingency mission to "decapitate" North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and other top commanders in charge of nuclear weapons. Pyongyang has threatened to strike Seoul's presidential office as the first subject of retaliation for any attempts to decapitate its leadership.
South Korea has drawn up a more aggressive operational plan. A joint exercise conducted by U.S. and South Korean troops last year tested their ability to mount preemptive attacks against North Korea ahead of its possible invasion.
reporter
Lim Chang-won
cwlim34@ajunews.com
