ROK military seeks big budget rise after warship sinking

---

SEOUL, June 30 (AFP): South Korea's defence ministry Wednesday requested a hefty budget increase for next year, citing the need to strengthen security after the sinking of a warship in an attack blamed on North Korea.
The ministry is seeking 31.6 trillion won (25.9 billion dollars) for 2011, up by around seven per cent from this year, a spokesman said.
This year's budget was 29.5 trillion won, a 3.6 per cent rise on 2009.
Tensions are high after South Korea, citing the findings of a multinational probe, accused the North of torpedoing the Cheonan corvette and killing 46 of its crew.
"The nation needs to bolster its military power to better cope with the growing threats from North Korea," the spokesman told AFP.
"The Cheonan incident underlined our pressing need to strengthen defence capabilities against limited and irregular warfare by North Korea."