Ministry of National Defense Republic of Korea

Ministry of National Defense’s report in the parliamentary audit:
Ministry to stimulate AI and unmanned combat system force integration;
Ministry to support the peace process on the Korean Peninsula by maintaining a firm readiness posture;
Ministry to build strong forces with integrity in the area of human rights and justice

Minister of National Defense Suh Wook highlighted his willingness to back up the government’s ‘peace process on the Korean Peninsula’ by building the defense capability that will enable Korea to lead the future.

Suh made the announcement while introducing ‘Defense: A Vision for 2050’ in the National Assembly National Defense Committee’s audit held on October 21. 

“We have established ‘Defense: A Vision for 2050’ by upgrading defense policies and strategies, and the concept of conduct of operations, in order to prepare against omnidirectional security threats and changes in the future combat aspect. We are working to reshuffle in order to achieve the goals of building strong forces and improving the awareness of the leadership at the same time,” Suh said.

Comprehensively considering the trend of our society and future combat from 2030 to 2050, as well as the direction of military strength of neighboring countries, ‘Defense: A Vision for 2050’ is slated to be published next month, as a document that presents a direction for future forces to be transformed into armed forces equipped with high-tech science and technology.

Regarding the building of high-tech defense power that is looking toward the future, Suh commented, “We are working to develop the defense science and technology by concentrating the capabilities of government and industry, academia and research institutes, including by providing support to the force integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and unmanned combat systems to meet the era of the fourth industrial revolution, and by holding the first pan-government national defense technology committee meeting.”

Suh also introduced the progress of the military’s main defense policies, including ‘maintaining a robust national defense posture,’ ‘pushing for the conditions-based transition of wartime operational control (OPCON),’ and ‘building a happy defense environment.’

Regarding preparations against omnidirectional security threats, “We are backing up the government’s ‘peace process on the Korean Peninsula’ by establishing a firm military readiness posture and strengthening our reaction capability against the North’s nuclear and missile threats,” Suh explained. “We are pushing for the conditions-based transition of OPCON, maintaining a firm ROK-US alliance,” he continued, stressing “We will expand our military’s defense capability, which is necessary for the transition of OPCON, by linking with the Defense Reform 2.0 initiative, and will push for the timely assessment of the full operational capability (FOC) that is needed to achieve the future combined command’s mission capability.”

By Chul-Hwan, Kim < droid001@dema.mil.kr >

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