Candidate Shin Won-sik: "We Must Accelerate Space Operations Capability"

Attending Strategy Forum: "Must Secure Overwhelming Response Capability"

Shin Won-sik, the nominee for Minister of National Defense, stated on the 19th that the military's capability to conduct space operations must be advanced.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Prior to the 'Defense Space and Missile Strategy Forum' co-hosted by the Korea Defense and Security Forum (KODEF) and members of the National Assembly at the Defense Convention in Yongsan, Seoul, Shin, in a written opening address, said that strengthening defense space capabilities has emerged as an urgent task.

Regarding measures to enhance defense space capabilities, he asserted, "We must secure surveillance reconnaissance satellites capable of early detection of North Korea's movements and early warning satellites to prepare for long-range nuclear and missile launches to deter North Korean provocations." He added, "To respond more effectively to North Korea's increasingly sophisticated nuclear and missile threats, we must accelerate the advancement of space operation capabilities by continuously expanding space forces equipped with cutting-edge scientific technologies."

Shin also said, "North Korea is developing solid-fuel ICBMs (Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles) to acquire the capability for surprise attacks on the U.S. mainland," and added, "We must expand long-range, high-power, ultra-precision strike capabilities for overwhelming massive retaliation and retribution to maintain peace on the Korean Peninsula based on a robust security posture."

Army Chief of Staff Park Jung-hwan, in a congratulatory message distributed in advance, said, "Space is a stage of hope and challenge for the future of the Republic of Korea and an essential domain for national security and prosperity," adding, "Countries without space military strategies and assets can never win in war." Park emphasized, "The Army will gather all wisdom and capabilities to make space a battlefield of opportunity and victory, detecting enemy threats from the space domain, actively defending, and developing overwhelming capabilities to deliver high-power, high-precision strikes in emergencies."

Meanwhile, Nam Se-gyu, former director of the Agency for Defense Development (ADD), proposed the concept of 'Ilman Yangtan' (一萬養彈), meaning securing 10,000 missiles, in a presentation titled "Overwhelming Denial Strategy to Counter the Advancement of North Korean Nuclear Missiles." Nam argued, "In the current security reality where North Korea is legalizing nuclear preemptive strikes and rapidly advancing its nuclear and missile forces, we must secure an overwhelming missile force comparable to North Korea's nuclear arsenal for KMPR (Massive Punishment and Retaliation), that is, Ilman Yangtan."

He estimated that securing 10,000 missiles and diversifying launch platforms to operate them would cost about 20 trillion won, suggesting this as a realistic measure when compared to the economic feasibility of developing an independent nuclear weapon.