Lawmakers Discuss Means to Strengthen Defense Industry
- Rep. Kim M.J. organizes the event focused on upgrading country's defense capabilities

Rep. Kim Myung-ja of the ruling Uri Party organized a discussion meeting entitled, "Means to Strengthen Competitive Power of Korea's Defense Industry," on Dec.7, last year, under the support of the National Defense System Improvement Committee and the Policy Committee of the Uri Party. The event took place at the auditorium of the National Assembly Library.
National Assembly Speaker Kim Won-ki, in a congratulatory speech, said he thought the event was highly significant, singling out Rep. Kim for her effort to organize the meeting as a member of the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly.
He said the strategic environment in Northeast Asia has been changing rapidly. The strategic interests in the Korean Peninsula of the United States, China, Japan and Russia have been in the vortex of change with the United States realigning its strategy in the region, China emerging as economically and militarily growing strong, Japan in the middle of expanding the role of its self-defense force and Russia boosting its image in the region with its economic resurgence and political stability as a base. Our government has been trying to expand its systematic effort to enlarge its reform strength under the flag of "cooperative independent defense."
Rep. Yoo Jay-kun, chairman of the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly, in his congratulatory address, said security on the Korean Peninsula has been changing rapidly since the end of the cold war. North Korea continues to strengthen its offensive power militarily under the pitch of becoming a strong big country and the surrounding countries of the peninsula have been taking steps to expand their military capabilities to become even more strong. North Korea's nuclear programs have been a hard problem to solve, while the U.S. forces in Korea, which has been a guarantor of peace in the region , are in the middle of considering realignment including the reduction of troops. He said it can be considered a crisis situation, perhaps, the greatest since the Korean War. The participatory government of President Roh Moo-hyun came up with "cooperative self-defense" as a mid-to-long-term defense policies, which is based on mutually complementary Korea-U.S. alliance and calls for securing strong self-reliant defense capabilities.
Rep. Kim Myung-ja, in her opening speech, said the security matters on the Korean Peninsula have been changing so fast with the U.S. about to realign its forces in Northeast Asia under its strategy. The government plans to draw up its own policies to respond to those new changes in security matters in the region. She said the government has to meet the changes to be created by the realignment of U.S. forces in Korea and at the same time strengthen our deterrence against North Korean threats.The most urgent task that the country faces is to get itself ready for digital and network wars that may occur in the 21st century with a firm base under the flag of cooperative self-reliant defense posture.
Professor Kim Chol-hwan of the National Defense College, one of the three presenters of main theses at the event, said the international security environment since the end of the cold war has changed. Ideological confrontation has ceased replaced with racial, regional and religious confrontations. Threats of terrorist and non-traditional weapons have increased with Japan and China becoming large military countries. The confrontation on the Korean Peninsula is still on with North Korean nuclear problems still unresolved and the U.S. planning to realign its forces in South Korea.
Kim, who graduated from the Korean Military Academy in 1970, said the international defense industry environment has changed also with restructuring and globalization taking place and competition between the U.S. and western European defense industries intensifying in the world.
In the meantime, domestic defense industries have been slowing down with the pace of growth in defense and fighting power facilities hitting lethargic trends. Defense industries have been experiencing management crises with their competitive edge weakening.
The professor said the defense policies of the participatory government of President Roh Moo-hyun have been focused on realization of self-reliant advance defense and cooperative self defense ready for future developmental changes in the Korea-U.S. alliance including the development of joint combined forces command system.
The promotion of securing self-reliant defense posture to cope with security threats from uncertain neighboring countries. nw