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Think tank proposes defense budget increase to deter N. Korea
By Rumy DooPublished : March 25, 2017 - 15:19
South Korea's state-run think tank on diplomacy on Saturday called for a temporary hike in the nation's defense budget to secure sufficient deterrence against North Korea's nuclear weapons program.
Yun Duk-min, chancellor of the Korea National Diplomatic Academy, proposed in a website post that the Seoul government increase its defense budget by about 3 trillion won ($2.8 billion) annually for the time being in order to establish reliable deterrents against the North's nuclear threats.
"A 'perfect storm' lies ahead in our diplomacy. There should be a balance in the defensive and offensive posture for the sake of reliable deterrence," said Yun. To that end, said he, the defense budget share of the nation's gross domestic product, which currently stands at 2.4 percent, should be hiked by 0.2 percentage point, or $2.8 billion, at least temporarily.
To cope with growing nuclear threats from North Korea, Seoul should build overwhelming deterrent capabilities based on reliable South Korea-US nuclear umbrella doctrine, a multilayer anti-missile defense system and pinpoint strike abilities, Yun asserted.
Regarding China's ongoing retaliation over the US deployment of an advanced missile defense system in South Korea, Yun proposed that Seoul coordinate more closely with Japan, Russia, India, Vietnam, Australia and other countries surrounding China. (Yonhap)
