By Na Jeong-ju
President Lee Myung-bak ordered Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin Tuesday to step up military reform and take all necessary measures to restore public confidence in the military’s combat capabilities, the presidential office said.
The instruction came about four weeks after Lee reshuffled the country’s top military posts amid allegations that the military’s initial response to North Korea’s deadly artillery attack on Nov. 23 was disappointing.
“Military reform is one of our urgent tasks,” Lee said during a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae. “The new defense chief should address this concern quickly and decisively.”
Lee said he understands why many people were not satisfied with the military’s handling of the attack, which killed two civilians and two marines, and why they are concerned about the country’s defense.
“We must reflect on ourselves for making them disappointed,” said the conservative leader.
“On the flip side, however, the incident has brought us together and gave an opportunity to have a stronger sense of national security.”
In a policy briefing session on Wednesday, Lee will receive a comprehensive report from the defense ministry on reform plans and North Korea’s military activities.
The measures to be taken this year to improve defense capabilities will include setting up a proactive deterrence strategy to prepare for various types of provocations by North Korea.
The military plans to boost its ability to conduct cyber warfare and increase the number of marines defending the western border islands and provide them with new weapons so that they can respond more effectively to possible North Korean aggression, according to presidential aides.
Minister Kim, a 61-year-old former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was named the country’s new defense chief just days after the South’s Yeonpyeong Island in the West Sea was shelled by the North Korean military, the first attack on civilians since the 1950-53 Korean War.
“Our military failed to carry out its basic duty of protecting the lives of the people and their properties,” Kim told lawmakers earlier this month, referring to the artillery attack on Yeonpyeong and the North’s torpedoing in March of a South Korean naval ship that killed 46 sailors.
Security experts have pointed out that North Korea has increased its asymmetric combat capabilities by developing nuclear weapons, submarines, ballistic missiles and special warfare troops, while the South has failed to deal with that.
President Lee and Minister Kim have repeatedly vowed a firm response to further provocation by the Kim Jong-il regime. Kim once said he would use fighter jets to bomb North Korean targets in the event of an additional attack on South Korea.