The Republic of Korea Military Police (ROK MP; Korean: 대한민국 국군 군사경찰; Hanja: 大韓民國國軍軍事警察; RR: Daehanminguk Gukgun Gunsagyeongchal), are the uniformed law enforcement agencies of each respective branch of the Republic of Korea Armed Forces. Once operated under a unified Military Police Command (헌병총사령부, heonbyeong chongsa ryeongbu) between 1953 and 1960,[1] the ROK's MP units are now commanded by the Army, Navy, Marines and Air Force HQs separately. ROK Army MPs also function as a border guards at the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
All ROK troops guarding and patrolling inside the DMZ wears military police armband, although they are mainly members of army's infantry or light infantry units. (Reconnaissance Battalion/Company. The ones deployed in the JSA are members of the United Nations Command Security Battalion). The reason why these soldiers are MPs is because the armistice that was signed in 1953 that ended the Korean War requires both sides (the North and the South) to restrict access inside the DMZ to MPs only, which means no vehicles, no squad-served weapons (such as mortars and HMGs) and no regular units of the army.
The Republic of Korea Army Military Polices' main role is to maintain security and order within the barracks, and also serves as gate guards for the base, and guards the checkpoints to keep watch for intruders. Since its main role is a police force within the military, they have motorized units which consists of motorcycles and other police vehicles to patrol the area that they are assigned to. However, in the 1990s, with the continued increase of the threats from their northern counterparts, the ministry of defense assigned a special operations team within the Military Police, which is the Republic of Korea Army Military Police Special Duty Team, also known as the SDT.
The ROK MP has the following small-arms in their inventory:
