Defense Minister nominee Shin Won-sik vowed Wednesday to “firmly punish” North Korea in the event of military provocations and warned the regime will come to an end should it conduct a nuclear attack.
Shin, a ruling People Power Party lawmaker who retired as a three-star Army general and is known for his expertise in defense policy and military operations, made the remarks during his confirmation hearing at the National Assembly.
“I will build a powerful defense posture that overwhelms the enemy,” Shin said, noting that the North continues to threaten South Korea with various military provocations and preparations for a nuclear test.
“If North Korea attempts a nuclear attack, its regime will come to an end.”
The retired general-turned-lawmaker reaffirmed his call for scrapping an inter-Korean military tension reduction agreement against such a backdrop.
Shin earlier said the Comprehensive Military Agreement, signed in 2018, when then President Moon Jae-in traveled to Pyongyang for summit talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, is a “wrong” accord that weakens the military’s combat power amid the North’s provocations.
“If I become minister, I will do my best to at least suspend the effectiveness of the agreement even if I cannot discard it,” he said, adding that no-fly zones designated under the accord should be normalized as soon as possible.
Shin, who is also known as a vocal supporter of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s drive to bolster security ties with the United States, pledged to further bolster their alliance.
“I will strengthen joint South Korea-U.S. exercises and training,” Shin said, adding he will also push to expand military cooperation with member nations of the United Nations Command and other friendly countries.
Noting the military’s difficulties in hiring new recruits, Shin said he will develop future combat systems, such as those based on artificial intelligence, and improve working conditions for junior servicemen.
The minister nominee, meanwhile, apologized for using what he called “excessive” remarks in referring to Moon while criticizing the former administration’s security policy in a political rally, saying they were “inappropriate.”
Shin also stressed there was a “misunderstanding” regarding his remarks made in 2019, which appeared to defend the Dec. 12 military coup of 1979.
“A coup is something that should absolutely not and cannot happen,” he said on the remarks referring to the coup, which ushered in the Chun Doo-hwan regime. “A coup is absolutely impossible in modern-day Korea.”
The parliamentary confirmation hearing is widely seen as a formality because his formal appointment does not require endorsement from the National Assembly.
In South Korea, the prime minister is the only Cabinet post that requires parliamentary approval.
mlee@yna.co.kr
Source: Yonhap News Agency