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S.Korean defense chief urges troops to adhere to duty amid expected tensions

Xinhua, January 1, 2017 Adjust font size:

South Korean defense chief urged troops on Sunday to adhere to their defense duty as tensions are expected to continue on the Korean Peninsula.

Defense Minister Han Min-koo said in his New Year's message that outfighting an enemy is the nature of armed forces, instructing soldiers to stick to the basics when situations got grave.

Han expected the grave situations to continue as provocation threats from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is hightened, stressing the importance of soldiers adhering to their defense duty.

Top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un said in his New Year's address that the project to test-launch an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) has entered a final stage, boosting concerns about another launch of a long-range rocket in the foreseeable future.

Pyongyang detonated its fourth atomic device in January last year, followed by the launch in February of a long-range rocket, which Seoul saw as a disguised test of a long-range missile.

The DPRK's fifth nuclear test was conducted in September, and it fueled expectations for another test-launch of a long-range rocket.

Minister Han said people give faith to the military adhering to the basics, calling for soldiers to maintain adamant defense readiness by refraining from looking to left and right.

South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Lee Sun-jin reportedly checked defense readiness of the army, navy and air force on Saturday aboard an early warning aircraft.

The four-star general, who was on board the airborne command center called Peace Eye, flew to the marine corps near the west maritime border with the DPRK, and then traveled east to contact troops near the eastern land and sea borders.

Lee said the DPRK is highly likely to conduct strategic and tactical provocations to utilize complex situations at home and abroad, vowing to deter and sternly retaliate against any provocations. Endit