Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Nominee: "Operational Restrictions Due to September 19 Military Agreement"

Regarding hearing inquiries, "Clearly limited by military agreement"
Cases including suspension of artillery fire around NLL in northwestern islands
Kim Myung-soo: "North Korea may provoke to resolve internal issues"

Nominee for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Kim Myung-soo evaluated the 'September 19 Inter-Korean Military Agreement,' which has been a point of sharp contention between the ruling and opposition parties regarding its continuation, by stating that "there are clear restrictions in military operations." Regarding the security situation on the Korean Peninsula, he expressed the view that North Korea has a sufficient possibility of carrying out provocations against the South.

On the 15th, during the National Assembly National Defense Committee confirmation hearing, Kim responded to questions from lawmakers of the Democratic Party of Korea, including Jeong Seong-ho, about the military agreement by indicating that the 'September 19 Military Agreement' has imposed operational restrictions. When Rep. Jeong asked, "Does the September 19 agreement have no effect at all?" Kim replied, "It is difficult to evaluate now whether it has an effect or not, but it is certain that there are military restrictions," and asserted, "In military operations, having no restrictions is best to prepare against enemy deception."

Kim Myung-soo, the nominee for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is responding to lawmakers' questions at the confirmation hearing held at the National Assembly on the 15th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

He also answered when Rep. Woo Shin-gu of the People Power Party asked, "Does the September 19 agreement cause any problems in military defense posture?" by stating, "There are spatial and temporal issues in surveillance posture, and a problem in not being able to detect the enemy’s rear in real time." He then specifically pointed out problems by saying, "A representative example is the issue during training and education when conducting K-9 (self-propelled howitzer) rotation training on the northwestern islands." Since the signing of the September 19 agreement, the military has been unable to conduct artillery firing exercises around the Northern Limit Line (NLL) areas such as Baengnyeongdo and Yeonpyeongdo in the West Sea.

Furthermore, Kim evaluated the situation on the Korean Peninsula by saying, "There is a sufficient possibility that North Korea will carry out provocations against the South to divert internal instability factors externally." He added, "North Korea is seeking a breakthrough to sanctions through military cooperation with Russia and is focusing on advancing its nuclear and missile capabilities, including ballistic missile launches and preparations for nuclear tests," and predicted, "If appointed as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, I will actively utilize the overwhelming advanced capabilities of our military and the ROK-US alliance from peacetime to secure military leadership over North Korea."

Kim also revealed a blueprint to strengthen the response posture against North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats. He plans to steadily promote the establishment of the Strategic Command to dramatically enhance the capabilities and posture of the Korean-style 3-axis system and to concretize policy and strategic guidelines for extended deterrence to increase execution power. Kim stated, "We cannot rely on the enemy’s goodwill to carry out the sacred mission of protecting the nation and its people," and pledged, "I will devote myself to building a military that is truly a military and wins when it fights."

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