Military holds meeting of generals, admirals on defense reform, leadership

By Song Sang-ho

SEOUL, Nov. 8 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's military held an annual meeting of general-grade officers from all armed services via video links Monday to discuss defense reform, inter-service cooperation and other security issues, the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) said.

JCS Chairman Gen. Won In-choul and the top brass of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps attended the Mugunghwa Meeting that the military has held since 1973 to discuss national security issues. Mugunghwa, the rose of Sharon in English, is the country's national flower.

The meeting came as South Korea's military is striving to maintain firm defense readiness following a series of North Korean missile launches in recent months, including the test-firing of a submarine-launched ballistic missile in October.

Won called for the top military officers to work with a "sense of crisis," stressing uncertainty over the current security environment in the region is "greater than at any time," his office said in a press release.

"I expect this meeting to serve as an opportunity to envision a better future of our military that we can hand down to our future generations and take a new look at the leadership of generals that befits the current times," Won was quoted by his office as saying.

The participating generals and admirals discussed a wide range of issues, including a military buildup based on inter-service cooperation and the use of cutting-edge technologies for field operations, such as drones and artificial intelligence.

Monday's meeting took place as the military as a whole has been striving to stamp out rivalries among armed services and reinforce their cooperation in countering threats from all security domains, including space.

sshluck@yna.co.kr
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