President Lee: "Soldiers Injured in Unexpected Accident in the DMZ... My Heart Still Aches"

[Financial News] President Lee Jae-myung said, "My heart still aches," regarding the recent incident in which our soldiers were injured by a landmine explosion in the Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).
President Lee attended the 78th Armed Forces Day ceremony held at Gyeryongdae, South Chungcheong Province on the 1st and stated, "My heart still aches when I think of our soldiers who were injured in an unexpected accident in the Korean Demilitarized Zone not long ago."
He added, "It makes me think once again that this ordinary day we enjoy stands on someone's risk," and said, "I wish for a speedy recovery and send my deepest condolences to the family."
Regarding inter-Korean relations, President Lee stated, "The South and the North must find a way to win together for the sake of peace on the Korean Peninsula and build trust. Trust is not built with a single word," adding, "It is built little by little only when words and actions align."
He emphasized, "Our government will consistently continue to take practical measures to reduce military tensions between the South and North. Although the knots in inter-Korean relations are intricately tangled, we will continue to untangle them step by step with patience."
Addressing North Korea, they stated, "We expect and urge the North to now join us on the path to restoring trust and resuming severed dialogue."
He also repeatedly emphasized his determination for self-reliant national defense.
President Lee said, "The Republic of Korea possesses the strongest military since its founding, and is the world's fifth-largest military power and one of the top ten economic powers, with defense spending alone amounting to 1.4 times North Korea's annual GDP," adding, "I take pride in the fact that the skills of each and every soldier are also at the highest level in the world."
He also emphasized, "Yesterday in Ulsan, the launching ceremony took place for ROKS Daeho Kim Jong-seo, the sixth state-of-the-art Aegis destroyer built with our own technology," adding, "By the mid-2030s, we will certainly successfully build nuclear-powered submarines with our own technology."
In addition, stating that "self-reliant defense is sovereignty," he said, "We will put an end to this by reclaiming wartime operational control and, together with the people, will surely realize the dream of self-reliant defense that has continued for half a century."
President Lee said, "Looking back, self-reliant national defense was not merely a task or dream of any single administration. President Park Chung Hee broke ground on the defense industry, saying, 'Let's make everything from a single rifle with our own hands.' President Roh Moo-hyun pushed that dream a step further with his determination for defense reform and wartime operational control. We have come this far carrying the dream of self-reliant national defense that has been passed down in this way."
Along with this, President Lee stated, "We will advance artificial intelligence and integrated manned-unmanned systems, reorganize the military structure accordingly, and redesign the overall national defense posture to certainly leap forward as a smart, elite, and powerful military."
In particular, he emphasized, "We will further advance the Korean-style three-axis system capable of early detection, interception, and response to missile threats," adding, "We will accelerate the development of future capabilities, such as high-energy laser interceptor weapons, AI-based command and control systems, and high-power missiles, to dramatically enhance our military-led deterrence and response capabilities."
[email protected] Choi Jong-geun, Seong Seok-woo Reporter