▲ President Lee Jae Myung (standing) speaks with soldiers of a Marine Corps unit based on Yeonpyeong Island on June 24, 2026. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
▲ President Lee Jae Myung handles a machine gun during his visit to a Marine Corps unit based on Yeonpyeong Island on June 24, 2026. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)
▲ President Lee Jae Myung handles a weapon during his visit to a Marine Corps unit based on Yeonpyeong Island on June 24, 2026. (Pool photo) (Yonhap)

(LEAD) president-military unit

(LEAD) Lee visits front-line Marine Corps unit, stresses strong deterrence against enemy

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details, photos in last 3 paras)

SEOUL, June 24 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung visited a front-line Marine Corps unit near North Korea and stressed the importance of strong deterrence against the enemy to ensure peace on Wednesday, the eve of the 76th anniversary of the start of the Korean War.

Lee traveled to the Marine Corps unit based on Yeonpyeong Island, just below the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the Yellow Sea, the de facto inter-Korean maritime border, to mark the anniversary of the outbreak of the 1950-53 war.

The war ended on July 27, 1953, with the signing of an armistice, leaving the Korean Peninsula divided into the capitalist South and the socialist North, with the two sides technically still at war.

Sharing lunch with the unit's service members, Lee described three stages of ensuring national security: winning a fight, winning without a fight and making a fight unnecessary.

The president named making a fight unnecessary as the most important part of all. "This exactly constitutes peace. Peace is the most solid foundation for security," he said.

Lee said peace should be based on "strong deterrence to overpower the enemy," pledging his efforts to further strengthen military capabilities to make the country's military a powerful force.

The president also pledged to reform the country's compulsory military service system, adding the government will eventually seek to minimize military conscription to replace it with a voluntary system.

"I will reform the system so that you no longer waste your precious time in the military, but that (your military service) helps you demonstrate your abilities in society," Lee said.

Lee also visited an observation deck overlooking the NLL and received a briefing on illegal fishing by Chinese vessels along the militarily sensitive maritime demarcation line.

Some Chinese fishing vessels have been accused of illegal fishing along the NLL, where it is difficult for South Korean authorities to use force due to the risk of clashes with North Korea.

The president pointed to illegal crossings of the NLL by Chinese fishing vessels from the northern side into southern waters, saying such violations should not be overlooked and raising the possibility of deploying patrol ships to crack down on them.

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