Moon vows firm response to potential security threats

President Moon Jae-in salutes the audience at a ceremony to mark the Armed Forces Day at the Daegu Air Base, Tuesday. Yonhap

By Do Je-hae

President Moon Jae-in stressed his resolve to protect national security during a speech marking the 71st Armed Forces Day at Daegu Air Force Base in North Gyeongsang Province, Tuesday.

“Our military will take the initiative to promptly respond to any potential threats to our national security with stronger and more accurate missile defense systems, new submarines and light aircraft-carrier landing ships, as well as other state-of-the-art defense systems including military satellites,” he said in a nationally-televised speech.

“As the proud commander-in-chief of our armed forces, I can report to the people that we have a fully functional security posture that no one can take for granted. The military are the cornerstone for peace and prosperity,” President Moon said.

He praised the military as the backbone for his ongoing peace process with North Korea. “Our military's security supports inter-Korean dialogue and cooperation and lets us take concrete steps to bring about a permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula,” he said. “Peace is not something to be maintained, but to be created.”

Moon underlined the military's support for peace that enabled the leaders of the Koreas and the U.S. to meet for the first time at Panmunjeom in June, which significantly contributed in reducing the tension created after the failure of a summit in Hanoi in February between U.S. president Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

“Because of the courage and the dedication of our military, we have been able to remove sentry posts within the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) and transform the Joint Security Area (JSA) into a completely unarmed area. We have been able to excavate the remains of South Korean soldiers and saw the first meeting of the leaders of the South, North and the U.S. at Panmunjeom, the very symbol of the division of the peninsula. For the first time, the U.S. president was able to cross the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) and touch North Korean soil,” Moon said. “All of this was possible because of the military's determination to establish and carry out a South-North military agreement.”

This was the first time the Armed Forces Day ceremony took place in Daegu, the site of landmark events in the independence movement and Korean War, such as the Tabu-dong Battle in the latter's early stages. Calling Daegu a “strategic security hub and city of patriotism,” Moon thanked residents for their long contribution to safeguarding the nation during some of the harshest periods of Korea's history.

The President also vowed to continue defense reforms, including spending more than 50 trillion won for next year's military budget, and increasing benefits and welfare for all men and women in uniform.

The remarks come amid some criticism that the Sept. 19 Military Agreement, signed in Pyongyang last year during the third summit between Moon and Kim, has not brought about fundamental changes in the security environment on the peninsula, with North Korea developing missiles and launching them despite the non-aggression pact.

Moon, however, highlighted his trust in the military as the background for him to declare his principle of “no tolerance of war” during a speech at the United Nations General Assembly, last week.

Marking the 100th anniversary of the March 1 Independence Movement during the Japanese occupation, Moon noted the military's roots were in this movement. “From the armed struggle for independence, the Korean War and the subsequent suppression of war, our military has always fully carried out its duties.”