As prepared - check against delivery
Introduction
Dr. John Chipman, distinguished defense ministers and armed services representatives, security experts, and ladies and gentlemen.
I am very honored and delighted to speak at this 7th IISS Asian Security Summit. Thank you Dr. Chipman for this wonderful opportunity. Although I have not met most of you personally, I feel like I am in the company of old friends because I believe our common endeavor for world peace and security unites us in spirit and amity.
On behalf of my fellow Koreans I would like to offer my deepest condolences to the victims of the recent natural disasters in Myanmar and China. At the same time, I would like to pay my highest tribute to the peoples of Myanmar and China whose courage, spirit, and enterprise will help them see these difficult times through.
I convey to them the hopes of the Korean people that recovery will be swift. The title of my presentation today is “Defense Policy in Times of Uncertainty: from The Korean Perspective”. I would like to begin by exploring some of the prominent characteristics of our current security environment before moving on to the direction of Korea’s defense policy.
The characteristics of the 21st century security environment
During the first years of the post-Cold War era, we had hoped a more secure world would be in the offing. The advent of the 21st century, however, has brought new and varied security threats in addition to the traditional military threats we had long experienced. This trend has only served to increase the uncertainty over our security environment.
Indeed, the source, shape, and form of these new security threats are becoming increasingly diversified. The range of these new threats is also expanding. Globalization of the world economy on the one hand, and the rapid progress of the Information Age on the other, have drastically accelerated the speed at which these new threats proliferate. More importantly, the impact of these new security threats and the manner in which we should deal with them constitute the very basis of the security and defense policies of the nations represented here at the Shangri-La Dialogue.
While traditional sources of threat such as localized conflicts are not likely to cease around the world, non-traditional and non-military threats such as terrorism, WMD proliferation, international crimes and mega-type natural disasters are on the rise. In particular, the proliferation of WMD is a significant factor behind an ever-increasing level of uncertainty over national security. All these non-traditional phenomena are not only uncertainty intensifiers, but also sources of new conflicts that have consequences across borders. A single act of cyber terrorism, for example, can paralyze the whole infrastructure of a country, or those of multiple countries.
Between nineteen eighty and two thousand seven, over one thousand two hundred suicide bombings claimed some fifteen thousand lives, while reported pirate attacks across the waters were tallied at an average of three hundred per year. Furthermore, natural disasters such as tsunamis, massive cyclones, and earthquakes have killed and displaced millions of people, leaving a trail of mass destruction in their wakes.
Due to the changing nature of these new threats, it has become increasingly difficult to accurately understand and predict them with the conceptual framework of traditional lines of thought.
Security on the Korean peninsula
A sweeping glance over the Korean peninsula shows a confluence of military and non-military, traditional and non-traditional threat elements.
As you might expect, the traditional threat on the Korean peninsula comes from North Korea. Although inter-Korean exchange and cooperation are steadily expanding, North Korea’s military threat remains unchanged. North Korea retains the world’s fourth largest regular army of one point one seven million troops, and a huge array of conventional weaponry. Of special note is the fact that over 70 percent of its ground forces are forward deployed, enabling them to carry out a surprise attack at any moment. Furthermore, North Korea continues to develop weapons of mass destruction such as nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons and missiles, posing a serious threat to Korean security and even regional stability. Such being the case, Korea is still confronting the most intense traditional military threat in the world.
Turning to its geopolitics, the Korean peninsula is surrounded by great powers, rendering its security susceptible to their strategic national interests. Over the past five thousand years, countless outside forces have invaded the Korean peninsula, owing in large part to its geopolitical characteristic of a potential flashpoint between continental powers and maritime powers.
In addition to the existence of traditional military threats, transnational and non-military threats are coming to the fore on the Korean peninsula, like in many other areas of the globe. Korean nationals are more exposed to the threat of international terrorism than ever as they travel abroad in record numbers, topping ten million a year. Commodity flow amounting to 70 percent of Korea’s GDP, and 97 percent of its energy resources are transported along sea lines of communication, leaving Korean vessels vulnerable to piracy. Exposure to the threat of cyber-terrorism is high as is the percentage of Korea’s population who use the Internet, which currently stands at 72 percent. Cyber crimes such as computer hacking total four thousand cases per year, which require around one hundred million US dollars of the national budget to deal with on an annual basis.
Such increasing uncertainty over national security calls for a multifaceted, simultaneous, and flexible response. And we have witnessed the changing concepts of security from a traditional, military-centered one to a comprehensive one that encompasses economic, diplomatic, social, and environmental considerations.
The direction of Korea’s defense policy
Today, Korea is placing strategic significance on a comprehensive security posture that can diagnose, interpret, and respond to an increasingly expansive spectrum of threats.
The realization of such a security posture entails a balance of the following three elements:
∙ first, the construction of an adequate level of military capability;
∙ second, the integration of the strengths of the civilian, government, and military sectors;
∙ and third, the promotion of international cooperation.
With regard to the first element, the core of a comprehensive security posture is the possession of advanced military capabilities.
Korea is enhancing its military capabilities to keep abreast of the rapidly changing security environment of the 21stcentury.
Korea began to implement Defense Reform in 2006 to transform its armed forces from a troop-intensive, quantity-centric military to a technology-intensive and information-centric military. I expect that by two thousand twenty, the Korean Armed Forces will have evolved into an advanced military with enhanced C4ISR, mobility, and precision strike capabilities, while downsizing its troop level to five hundred thousand service members.
Another task of Korea’s defense reform is to reorganize our force structure to better respond to various security threats. As an example, specific military response units will be designated, staffed, and equipped to deal with transnational and non-military threats during peacetime.
The second element for a comprehensive security posture is the integration of the strengths of the civilian, government, and military sectors. Since responding to all forms of threat by military force alone has its limits, all of a nation’s available resources must be utilized. To this end, Korea is integrating the crisis-response capabilities of its civilian, government and military sectors to respond rapidly to national contingencies such as terrorism and large-scale natural disasters.
To provide legal basis for such integration efforts, related laws such as the Terrorism Prevention Law and the Integrated Civil Defense Law are being revised to better reflect changes to the security environment.
The third and final element required for a comprehensive security posture is international cooperation. Due to the proliferation of transnational threats, consolidating the collective capabilities of all nations concerned is a prerequisite for the most effective response. The efforts of one nation might not be enough. Therefore, the nations represented here today must be able and willing to combine their capabilities to meet the threats of tomorrow. Korea will play an active role in these international efforts. As a part of these efforts, Korea intends to play a bigger and more active role in multilateral security dialogue and cooperation.
Conclusion
Charles Darwin expounded the virtues of “the survival of the fittest”: only those species that adapt to change can survive. In these times of uncertainty, we need a flexible and multidimensional adaptation to guarantee our national security.
To this end, domestic preparation and international cooperation are of the utmost importance. Our respective governments will each do what is best for domestic preparation, but I would like to make the following two proposals to build a system of regional cooperation to better meet the demands of these times of uncertainty.
First, I propose we work together to improve our system of global disaster management. As we have seen with the 2004 tsunami in Southeast Asia, the recent cyclone in Myanmar, and the more recent earthquakes in China, natural disasters are hard to predict, and their damage can be even more extensive in the future. What is worse, these catastrophic natural disasters can occur at any time and at any place. These characteristics make it difficult for the victim nation alone to cope with the havoc wreaked by nature.
Therefore, a crisis management system of global reach is urgently required to effectively manage the vestiges of natural disasters. Working together on such a system will strengthen our regional and global cooperation in dealing with today’s uncertainty.
Second, in order to respond more effectively to various threats, I propose we share our relevant experiences and accumulated know-hows with one another. Korea is ready to share a diverse array of its national defense policy experiences with other nations, such as the formulation and implementation of Defense Reform. Furthermore, Korea is able and willing to share its experiences in various other fields, including UN peacekeeping operations and disaster relief.
In closing, I would like to ask you for your continued support and cooperation for the continued security of the Republic of Korea. The security of Korea is largely contingent on how effectively it can handle North Korea’s military threat as well as other newly-emerging security threats. The security of the region at large, in turn, is largely contingent on the security of Korea. In particular, the North Korean nuclear threat has direct and indirect ramifications for not only the Korean peninsula, but also regional stability and world peace. For its part, the Republic of Korea will always stand ready to heed the calls of the international community to contribute to world peace.
Noting the wisdom of a Korean proverb that goes “even a sheet of paper is easier to carry with two people,” the international community must deal with various sorts of threats, contingencies, and disasters together as friends, with our arms extended towards one another.
Thank you for your attention.
