President Yoon: "We Must Maintain a Preparedness Posture to Strongly Respond to North Korean Provocations"

Presiding over the Eulji National Security Council Meeting

President Yoon Suk-yeol is presiding over the "Eulji National Security Council" at the National Security Office Crisis Management Center on the 19th, when the Eulji Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise began.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Yoon Suk-yeol presided over the 'Eulji National Security Council Meeting' at the Crisis Management Center of the National Security Office from 9 a.m. on the 19th, and checked the nation's total war readiness and the procedures for transitioning to wartime for each agency, the presidential office announced.

President Yoon recalled that North Korea is threatening our security by continuing propaganda and agitation against the South and spreading balloon leaflets while advancing its nuclear and missile capabilities, and instructed that through this exercise, "we will establish a preparedness posture and capabilities to strongly respond to any provocation from North Korea."

President Yoon emphasized, "We must firmly protect our freedom and prosperity with strong power, not just words." He ordered that since the Republic of Korea and the United States have maintained peace on the Korean Peninsula through an ironclad combined defense posture and strong deterrence against North Korea, this exercise should comprehensively check our defense posture and demonstrate the formidable strength of the ROK-US alliance.

This joint exercise is planned to enhance the nation's total war capability to protect the lives and safety of our people from various complex provocations, including North Korea's nuclear and missile threats, GPS jamming, cyberattacks, gray zone provocations, and the spread of false information.

President Yoon urged, "All government ministries must participate in the exercise as if it were real, with the determination that every drop of sweat now protects the lives and safety of our people," and asked to ensure the utmost safety of all personnel involved in this exercise, including our military.

Attending the Eulji National Security Council Meeting on this day were Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, National Security Office Director and Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik, Presidential Chief of Staff Jeong Jin-seok, Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Tae-yeol, Minister of Unification Kim Young-ho, Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, Director of the National Intelligence Service Cho Tae-yong, NSC Secretary-General Kim Tae-hyo, Deputy Director of the National Security Office In Sung-hwan, Third Deputy Director Wang Yoon-jong, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Kim Myung-soo, among others.

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