SEOUL, Sept. 13 (Xinhuanet) -- South Korea is to sharply increase its military spending in the next fifteen years as an effort to transform its military into a more agile, high-tech force equipped with sophisticated weapons, the South Korean Defense Ministry said Tuesday.

    In a joint press conference with top military officers Tuesday afternoon, South Korean Defense Minister Yoon Kwang-ung said South Korea would increase its defense budget by 11 percent annually from 2006 to 2015 to implement a set of military reform measures.

    During the 2016-2020 period, Yoon said his ministry plans to increase defense budget by about 7 percent annually.

    South Korea's defense budget this year was fixed at 20.8 trillion won (20 billion US dollars), sharply increasing 9.8 percent from a year ago.

    However, the defense chief refused to discover the exact amount of the spending needed for the 15-year reform plan.

    "I'm not going to talk about the numbers," Yoon told reporters, adding that the exact amount of military spending would be determined later after consultations with political party officials and experts.

    Previously, local media reported the South Korean government planed to raise the defense budget portion in the gross national production (GDP) from 2004's 2.7 percent level to 3.5 percent level by the year of 2020.

    The increase of defense budget is a key of a major policy goal of South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun to reform the 681,000-member military.

    Last week, local media reported the South Korean Defense Ministry considered to reduce its troop level to 500,000 by the end of 2020, with drastic readjustment of army combat organizations and introduction a number of modern weapons.

    The streamlining reform is aimed at strengthening South Korea's defense capability while reducing its dependence on US forces.

    The US currently has 32,500 troops here. The US Forces Korea (USFK) started implementation of its troop reduction scheme from last year in South Korea, which plans to cut one third of its troop, or 12,500, from 2004 to 2008. Enditem