ID :
82627
Fri, 10/02/2009 - 02:03
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://www.oananews.org//node/82627
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea's Lee calls for uncompromised deterrence against N. Korea
(ATTN: CHANGES slug; RECASTS headline, lead to include remarks by president; UPDATES
throughout)
By Sam Kim
SEOUL Oct. 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea marked the 61st anniversary of the founding
of its military on Thursday with its president calling for steadfast deterrence
against North Korea irrespective of widening dialogue between the two countries.
"Dialogue with North Korea should not lead to a compromise in our principles and
values," President Lee Myung-bak said in a ceremony at Gyeryongdae military
compound in central South Korea.
"Our military must be able to deter a war without fighting one," he said in a
speech, arguing North Korea is "diversifying its threats" with its ongoing
nuclear and missile programs.
The ceremony, which also drew new Defense Minister Kim Tae-young and other top
defense leaders, falls on the day when South Korea made its first military
counter-offensive into North Korea in 1950.
The three-year Korean War ended in a truce in 1953, leaving a deeply ingrained
hostility on the peninsula highlighted by a heavily fortified border at the 38th
parallel.
Inter-Korean relations frayed after Lee took office in Seoul early last year with
a disciplinary stance on the North. Following its May nuclear test that triggered
harsher punitive sanctions from the U.N., Pyongyang has begun making conciliatory
gestures toward the outside world in recent months.
The communist state sent a delegation of high-ranking officials to pay respects
when former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung died in August and allowed the
resumption of families separated by the fratricidal war for the first time in two
years.
Following Lee's speech, dozens of fighter jets, including KF-16s, and attack
helicopters such as Cobras were featured in a performance flight, while special
force troops showed off top martial arts moves and rappelling skills.
South Korea, which operates 655,000 troops under a compulsory conscription
system, traditionally uses the anniversary as a chance to tout some of its best
warfighting assets.
The military, however, skipped a street parade this year, as the government is
trying to minimize public gatherings that could help spread the H1N1 flu virus,
which has killed 11 people here.
The U.S. military, which has 28,500 troops stationed here as a deterrent against
North Korea, took part in the ceremony, performing a high-altitude parachute
descent together with South Korean troops.
With its conventional army outdated and outspent, North Korea has pushed forward
with the development of nuclear and missile technologies over the years.
The moves have prompted the South to seek to obtain assets that could monitor and
strike any North Korean nuclear and missile bases in the event of a conflict by
2020.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
throughout)
By Sam Kim
SEOUL Oct. 1 (Yonhap) -- South Korea marked the 61st anniversary of the founding
of its military on Thursday with its president calling for steadfast deterrence
against North Korea irrespective of widening dialogue between the two countries.
"Dialogue with North Korea should not lead to a compromise in our principles and
values," President Lee Myung-bak said in a ceremony at Gyeryongdae military
compound in central South Korea.
"Our military must be able to deter a war without fighting one," he said in a
speech, arguing North Korea is "diversifying its threats" with its ongoing
nuclear and missile programs.
The ceremony, which also drew new Defense Minister Kim Tae-young and other top
defense leaders, falls on the day when South Korea made its first military
counter-offensive into North Korea in 1950.
The three-year Korean War ended in a truce in 1953, leaving a deeply ingrained
hostility on the peninsula highlighted by a heavily fortified border at the 38th
parallel.
Inter-Korean relations frayed after Lee took office in Seoul early last year with
a disciplinary stance on the North. Following its May nuclear test that triggered
harsher punitive sanctions from the U.N., Pyongyang has begun making conciliatory
gestures toward the outside world in recent months.
The communist state sent a delegation of high-ranking officials to pay respects
when former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung died in August and allowed the
resumption of families separated by the fratricidal war for the first time in two
years.
Following Lee's speech, dozens of fighter jets, including KF-16s, and attack
helicopters such as Cobras were featured in a performance flight, while special
force troops showed off top martial arts moves and rappelling skills.
South Korea, which operates 655,000 troops under a compulsory conscription
system, traditionally uses the anniversary as a chance to tout some of its best
warfighting assets.
The military, however, skipped a street parade this year, as the government is
trying to minimize public gatherings that could help spread the H1N1 flu virus,
which has killed 11 people here.
The U.S. military, which has 28,500 troops stationed here as a deterrent against
North Korea, took part in the ceremony, performing a high-altitude parachute
descent together with South Korean troops.
With its conventional army outdated and outspent, North Korea has pushed forward
with the development of nuclear and missile technologies over the years.
The moves have prompted the South to seek to obtain assets that could monitor and
strike any North Korean nuclear and missile bases in the event of a conflict by
2020.
samkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
