Moon calls for watertight defense posture

SEOUL, March 31 (Yonhap) -- President Moon Jae-in on Thursday called for the military to maintain a watertight defense posture amid tensions in the wake of North Korea's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) launch last week.

Moon made the remarks during a ceremony to award swords to a total of 75 newly-appointed brigadier generals, saying tensions are escalating after North Korea's ICBM launch and Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Moon urged the new brigadier generals to maintain a military preparedness that "eliminates any gap" in defense posture, Cheong Wa Dae said in a statement.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula heightened after North Korea successfully test-fired a massive intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on March 24, marking its first ICBM test-launch since 2017.

The launch ended the North's self-imposed moratorium on nuclear and ICBM tests, with intelligence authorities expecting Pyongyang to raise tensions further by test-launching another ICBM or even conducting a nuclear test.

kdh@yna.co.kr
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