Song Young-moo "The Public Still Fears War... Trauma Is Excessive"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yang Nak-gyu] Former Minister of National Defense Song Young-moo stated, "Many citizens still harbor fears of war with North Korea, and sometimes this trauma tends to become excessive."

On the 4th, in his book titled "Towards an Advanced Democratic National Military: The Moon Jae-in Government's Defense Policy," former Minister Song said, "Korea's excessive reactions and actions may lead to a situation where the security dilemma between the South and the North could become trapped," adding, "Historically, such security dilemmas have frequently occurred and have resulted in unfortunate outcomes."

Former Minister Song also mentioned that during his visit to North Korea as part of the delegation for the 2018 Pyongyang Inter-Korean Summit, "Various special envoys accompanied the delegation, expanding the scope of communication and understanding between the South and the North," and added, "The special envoys mingled informally with Chairman Kim Jong-un on various occasions such as dinners and visits to Baekdu Mountain, fostering friendship."

He revealed that senior officials of the Workers' Party of Korea expressed concerns that if Kim Jong-un, who is in his mid-30s, fails to achieve economic growth by the time he reaches his 40s, North Korea would fall permanently behind, and they were hopeful for reform and opening-up.

Quoting testimonies from senior Workers' Party officials, he claimed, "They worried that if North Korea does not overcome its current difficulties and achieve economic growth within the next 15 years, when Kim Jong-un is still in his prime working years, that is, until his 40s, North Korea would be left behind forever, and they had expectations for reform and opening-up."

Former Minister Song said, "They rather indirectly expressed their dissatisfaction with the current trend of international sanctions against North Korea by the United States and the United Nations, and suggested alternatives to overcome them," adding, "They said that compared to North Korea, the economic powerhouse United States needs to make more concessions and provide economic support." He further noted, "Since these exchanges occurred several times in private, informal settings rather than official talks, I believe these were their candid opinions."

Former Minister Song also systematically refuted some critical claims regarding the September 19 Inter-Korean Military Agreement.

He explained, "Some argue that the South-North agreement restricts our military's force enhancement and poses problems for the South Korea-U.S. joint exercises," and added, "However, we all need to understand that the negotiations and military agreement were made with full recognition of South Korea's security realities and concerns."

In particular, he shared an anecdote, saying, "After the signing of the agreement, during a luncheon in Samjiyon, I mentioned to North Korean officials that we plan to significantly increase the budget for force enhancement after 2019 and expand the latest weapons systems," and explained, "This force enhancement is not aimed at North Korea but is a proactive response by the Republic of Korea to changes in the security situation around the Korean Peninsula."

Regarding the establishment of the West Sea buffer zone, former Minister Song countered, "Some say it did not take into account North Korea's 4th Corps' long-range artillery," and argued, "Considering the nature of modern warfare, attacking ships with long-range artillery is a very inefficient method that wastes ammunition. The scale of coastal artillery and artillery forces deployed in the West Sea buffer zone is about 3 to 5 times that of the North, corresponding to 70 to 80% of the North Korean West Sea fleet's power, so the effect is a greater reduction in threats to us."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.