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| ▲ Nominee for defense chief In this file photo, Ahn Gyu-back, nominated by President Lee Jae Myung as the defense minister, speaks to reporters as he arrives at a temporary office in Seoul on June 27, 2025, to prepare for his parliamentary confirmation hearing. (Yonhap) |
defense minister nominee-military pact
Defense minister nominee cites need to restore inter-Korean military pact
SEOUL, July 9 (Yonhap) -- Defense Minister nominee Ahn Gyu-back has reiterated the need to restore a now-scrapped inter-Korean military tension reduction agreement, a document showed Wednesday, as the new government seeks to mend frayed ties with North Korea.
"For the sake of sustainable peace on the Korean Peninsula, it is necessary to ease inter-Korean military tension and establish trust," Ahn said in a written statement, when asked about his opinion about the restoration of the pact by main opposition People Power Party Rep. Kang Dae-sik.
"Considering the impact on military operations and a comprehensive review, I will seek a direction that practically contributes to easing inter-Korean military tensions and establishing trust," he said.
South Korea fully suspended the 2018 agreement in June last year, under the former Yoon Suk Yeol administration, in response to the North's repeated trash balloon campaigns and attempts to disrupt GPS signals near border islands.
Ahn underscored the significance of the agreement, saying it was the "first-ever comprehensive and practical" agreement aimed at lowering military tension on the Korean Peninsula.
"It is meaningful in the sense it fleshed out ways for the principles and values the two Koreas had agreed up on an abstract and declaratory level," the nominee said.
Ahn, meanwhile, said South Korea will make its own decision on defense spending amid a U.S. call urging allies to hike their defense spending to 5 percent of the gross domestic product (GDP).
"It is a matter we will decide on upon comprehensively reviewing the security environment and the government's fiscal circumstances," he said.
Ahn, a five-term lawmaker, was tapped as President Lee Jae Myung's first defense minister last month. He is the first civilian defense chief to be nominated in 64 years for the post that has been generally taken by retired military generals.
The National Assembly will hold a confirmation hearing for him on July 15.
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