S. Korea to concentrate on military buildup against N. Korea's nuke, missile threats

South Korea's future military buildup will focus on countering North Korea's asymmetric military power, a shift from the current conventional warfare-focused armament, Defense Minister Han Min-koo said Wednesday.

The military "will have a paradigm shift in a way that military armament against North Korean asymmetric threats such as nuclear weapons and missiles is secured foremost," Han said in a lecture given at a forum held by cable news broadcasting station Channel A.

South Korea has so far focused its military buildup on deterring North Korea's "latent threats" and securing the full range of military armament, the defense minister said.

During this time, the North has concentrated on producing offensive weapons, Han said, referring to the North's advancing nuclear and missile capabilities, as well as long-range artillery and submarines.

"The general public seems to think the military is relying on the U.S. for defense against North Korea's nuclear and missile threats because we don't have proper military power against them," the minister pointed out. 

He said the military is now envisioning a move to give top priority to securing military equipment that can deal with North Korea's nuclear and missile intimidation.

"At the same time, the military will continue to build up the country's indigenous Kill Chain and Korean Air and Missile Defense systems," he said, referring to the country's two air shield systems that should be in operation by the mid-2020s.

South Korea also plans to develop its own "asymmetric military power" as the country seeks significant military buildup in the run-up to the planned transfer of now U.S.-held wartime operational control of South Korean forces back to Seoul in the mid-2020s, he also said. (Yonhap)