Shin Kyubaek Presides Over First Day of UFS Strategy Meeting: "Cultivating Practical Combat Awareness Is the Military's Destiny"

On August 18, Minister of National Defense Shin Kyubaek stated regarding the Ulchi Freedom Shield (UFS) exercise, "A sense of real combat cannot be expressed in words or writing, so it is the military's destiny to cultivate practical combat awareness through such exercises," adding, "Please develop the capability to execute wartime operations immediately."

According to the Ministry of National Defense on August 19, Minister Shin made these remarks while presiding over the first day's National Defense Strategy Meeting for the UFS, the first combined exercise of the People's Sovereignty Government, at the B-1 document vault the previous afternoon. Previously, South Korea and the United States began the UFS combined military exercise on August 18, which will continue until August 28.

During the meeting, Minister Shin emphasized to key officials, including the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the chiefs of staff of each military branch, that 'the safety of the people' must be the top priority. He stated, "In preparation for war, we must establish a national all-out war posture that enables victory with the minimum sacrifice in the shortest possible time."

He also said, "We must work together with the international community, under a robust combined defense posture, to de-escalate crises and prevent them from expanding into full-scale war, so that we can return to pre-crisis conditions."

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