Nowhere else is high technology applied more than the field of National defense. Ministry of National Defense of South Korea (MND) is no exception. It has begun to progressively introduce Ubiquitous-based IT technologies atop sophisticated Internet and Ubiquitous infrastructures.

The government has driven the introduction and the expansion of IT technologies in both the public and private sectors. IT-839, a policy of the Ministry of Information and Communication (MIC), paved the way for these developments. As world IT trends flow in the direction of Ubiquitous adoption, IT-839 has evolved into U-IT839 with the aim of hightening the competitiveness of all the national sectors.

MND and MIC have cooperated to build a high-tech military by weaving a policy network between U-IT839 and National Defense Reform 2020. To strengthen its efforts, MND announced on July 5 that it would invest $ 4.3 million by the end of this year in the IT New Technology Experiment Project, to be operated by the Army Headquarters as a part of the National Defense Informationization Collaborative Project.

The objective of the Experiment Project is to develop new service models and to maximize synergy effects generated through the combination of technology and service by applying the present U-IT technologies to a military division as a starting point to establish future Ubiquitous military divisions.

The scope of the Experiment Project includes five model systems using RFID, USN, telematics, and biometrics, as well as an integrative system which provides service by organically interconnecting the five model systems. These five model systems are a part of the twenty four Collaborative Projects, which were defined by National Defense Informationization Collaborative Committee in January, 2006.

Among the five model systems, Unattended Monitoring System detects and chases infiltrators who break into major facilities. It is designed for effective surveillance and operation of the military, using surveillance cameras and various sensors, which perceive sound, oscillation, magnetic field, and motion.

Logistics Integrative System effectively manages stock conditions by attaching RFID tags to military materials and properties. The RFID tags, which use telematics technologies, enable close monitoring of military stocks.

Entrance and Exit Management System strengthens security for major military facilities by using RFID and biometrics such as fingerprint and vein recognition systems.

Remote Medical System provides high quality medical services to field military units, stationed in the hinterlands, by creating a close network of cooperation between medical units of the field military units, military divisions, and military hospitals.

Finally, Sound Data Integrative System, built on the National Defense Information Communication Network, integrates FAX, sound/video phone, and walkie-talkie, by using IPv6 and VoIP technologies.

The IT New Technology Experiment Project will be in effect until 2010. After 2008, it will focus primarily on building up military strength. Then, depending on the utility and the applicability of these technologies to the military, the Project will grow to gradually encompass the whole military forces starting in 2011.

This Project is expected to accelerate national defense reforms by reducing costs and improving task-handling processes. In addition, it will confer new strategic advantages to the military. The IT industry also stands to benefit from the Project as it will create new demands for IT technologies and enhance international competitiveness.