South Korean President Lee Jae-myung called on Thursday for accelerating defense reforms focused on building a “smart” military through advanced technologies and selective military recruitment.
Yonhap News Agency reported that Lee issued these instructions during a meeting with his top aides at the Blue House, stating that “the country’s persistently low birth rate makes it impossible and undesirable to maintain an ‘inefficient military structure’ that relies on personnel and infantry.”
The agency quoted the president as saying, “We must introduce selective conscription and quickly and thoroughly pursue defense reforms that transform our military into a smart, elite and strong military centered on advanced equipment and technologies.”
Lee added, “What is important in the process is that we redesign the system so that the youth, who are the backbone of national defense, can plan a better life for their future.”
According to the agency, South Korea requires all males to serve in the military for a minimum of 18 months. Others are exempt from military service or are required to perform alternative service depending on their health conditions. Lee called for policies that will ensure military service that leads to good jobs, excellent education, and stable wealth accumulation.
Meanwhile, a South Korean Unification Ministry official said on Thursday that North Korea’s criticism of Seoul’s efforts to acquire nuclear-powered submarines represents Pyongyang’s first official response on the matter.
North Korea’s First Vice Foreign Minister, Jang Kum-chol, claimed that Seoul’s efforts to build nuclear submarines are a step toward nuclear armament, in a statement published by the North’s official Korean Central News Agency the previous day.
Jang warned that nuclear cooperation between Seoul and Washington on submarine development would further destabilize the Korean Peninsula and called on his country to secure an unparalleled force capable of neutralizing all types of existing or newly emerging threats. (EIR)
