Park Ji-won is a writer for The Korea Times who has been covering a wide range of topics from Korea’s culture to its politics. An avid journalism enthusiast to the core, Ji-won brings a thoughtful and unique perspective to every topic she covers. On weekends, you'll often find her contemplating life’s purpose on a yoga mat — with a cup of quality tea in hand. A native Korean speaker by birth and fluent in English through her work, she went to college in Japan and is learning Chinese and French — hoping to add Polish, Russian and Thai to the mix.
Ending war is political proclamation: defense minister nominee
Defense Minister nominee Jeong Kyeong-doo, chief of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, takes the oath before participating in his confirmation hearing at the National Assembly, Monday. / Yonhap
By Park Ji-won
By Park Ji-won
Defense Minister nominee Jeong Kyeong-doo said in his confirmation hearing, Monday, that the military has bolstered defense readiness ahead of the upcoming inter-Korean summit.
He also said that formally ending the Korean War should be pushed forward according to the Panmunjeom Declaration.
Jeong, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said a treaty to end the war will be “a political proclamation” to pave the way for denuclearization, but this does not mean disbandment of the United Nations Command or the breakup of the South-U.S. defense alliance.
When asked about the North's aim of seeking the end of the war for this summit, Jeong said “it was aimed at building trust between the two Koreas and North Korea and the U.S. in order to achieve the perfect denuclearization.”
His remarks came one day before the leaders of the two Koreas are set to meet in Pyongyang on Tuesday for their third summit.
Meanwhile, regarding the opposition party lawmakers' questions about deleting a description of North Korea calling it the “enemy” in the defense white paper which will be published in December, Jeong said, “We are not pushing for deleting the word. I am clear about what enemy means.”
He added, “As far as I know, (the military) is gathering opinions from various perspectives and pushing for publishing the paper in December. I think designating the North Korean regime and army as the enemy upholds a limitation that doesn't include the concepts of changing security environments; for example invasion of our sea and land or (emergence of) terrorist organizations such as ISIS. We are trying to find the best expression by comprehensively considering opinions.”
Joint Chiefs of Staff head nominated
The defense ministry nominated Park Han-ki, commander of the 2nd Operational Command, as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Monday.
The ministry will submit the request to the National Assembly, Tuesday, to hold a confirmation hearing for the nominee if he is approved at a Cabinet meeting. If he is appointed by President Moon Jae-in, he will be the first JSC chief with the background of the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) since 1998 when Kim Jin-ho served as chief.