South Korean women are given more significant roles in actively defending territories as the Ministry of Defense announced to Media on Wednesday that it is affording more combat duties to qualified women.

"We will open up artillery and armor branches of the army to women," says Boo Jae-Won, head of the Personnel Planning Bureau of the Ministry of Defense adding that from 2012-14, there will be 12 branches accepting women as comrades.

The branches include navy's fire control and air force's air defense.

The roles awarded to women will be divided between officers and non-commissioned officers.

"Our plans are to have seven percent of all officers and five percent of non-commissioned officers be women by the years 2015 and 2017, respectively."

To date, the ministry told the media the country has 6,957 female soldiers throughout the army, navy, marine corps and air force. It is expecting the figure to reach 11,500 by 2020.

South Korea requires all its male citizens aged between 18 and 38 to render military service to the nation. Although women are not included in the conscription, the ministry said they are welcome to become commissioned and non-commissioned officers.

In the early 1990s, the Korean Woman's Army Corps was disbanded. And since then, women have been designated to various non-combat branches of the army.

The Korea Herald said in a related report that the army has not stationed women in special operations forces and reconnaissance units since the disbandment of woman's army corps.

In lieu of South Korea's bold decision, its navy and air force has extended to selected female cadets opportunities to be drafted to the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program in March 2010, a first move since the ROTC's establishment in 1963.

"Next year, the ROTC will pick 260 cadets-250 for the army and five each for the navy and airforce," Boo was quoted on Korea Herald, stating further that in 108 universities with ROTC program, the female students are welcome to sign up for the training.