Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

During a speech marking the 71st Armed Forces Day at Daegu Air Force Base on October 1, President Moon Jae-in stressed that our military’s airtight security supports dialogue and cooperation and allows us to move boldly toward permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula.

“Anyone who lives on the peninsula dreams of enjoying peace and prosperity for generations. Our powerful military maintains this dream,” he said.

He described the courage and dedication of the military as the backbone to the ongoing peace process on the peninsula since last year, saying “Peace is something to create, not to keep.”

“We have been able to remove guard posts within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), jointly excavate the remains of the war dead, and transform the Joint Security Area (JSA) into a completely unarmed area. We saw a trilateral meeting among the leaders of Republic of Korea, North Korea and the United States at Panmunjom, and for the first time, the United States President stepped over the military demarcation line. All of this was possible because of the military’s determination to establish and carry out the inter-Korean military agreement,” Moon said. “Based on my trust in our military’s powerful defense forces, I proposed transforming the DMZ into an international peace zone during the keynote speech at the United Nations General Assembly last week,” he added.President Moon also called for innovation befitting the new era. “Our military has always innovated to address changes in the times. The military has made efforts to speedily apply state-of-the-art defense science technologies to its defense capabilities, as well as to consolidate conventional forces,” he said, citing the “foundation of a ground operations command” and the “launch of a steering group to deal with the Fourth Industrial Revolution Smart Defense Innovation.” “The security environment on the peninsula is always changeable. As shown by the power of the drone attacks in the Middle East, the challenges we will face in the future will take diverse forms that are different from the past,” he added.

“Future warfare will be turned into “science warfare” or “information warfare” against all forces that threaten and infringe on the safety and property of the people. It is safe to say that it is innovation that will determine the power of our security, as well as our victory or defeat in future warfare,” Moon emphasized.

“The government is placing a top priority on completing the “Defense Reform 2.0” project. This marks the first time Republic of Korea’s annual defense budget will exceed 50 trillion won. To improve our defense capabilities, 41 trillion won was spent over the last three years, and about 16 trillion 700 billion won is scheduled to be budgeted for the next year,” Moon also said. “Our military will take the initiative to respond to any potential security threats with stronger and more accurate missile defense systems, new submarines and light aircraft carrier landing ships, and state-of-the-art defense systems including military satellites.

” “Our military is “troops of patriotism” rooted in the independence movements, “troops of peace” to lead reconciliation and cooperation between the South and the North, and “troops of the people” to take the lead when the people have difficulties. I vow that our military will create a new century to secure a firm security posture that no one can take for granted, serve as a cornerstone of peace and prosperity, and live well together,” President Moon also added. 

By Joo-Hyeong, Lee < jataka@dema.mil.kr >

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