Lee says strong alliance and self-reliant defense are 'necessary and sufficient conditions'

President Lee Jae Myung said Tuesday that "a solid Korea-US alliance and the strengthening of self-reliant defense capabilities are necessary and sufficient conditions for each other."

Lee made the remarks while presiding over the first Ulchi Cabinet meeting and a full session of the Ulchi National Security Council at Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday morning, saying the country must use the Ulchi exercise to "more thoroughly review and reinforce our defense posture and further strengthen the nation's overall crisis-response capabilities."

"The alliance must be solid for the foundation of our security to grow stronger, and we must build our own strength so that our value and necessity as an ally also grows," Lee said. He also urged officials to "accelerate the push for the nuclear submarine project, which will symbolize the future of a more constructive and robust Korea-US alliance."

Lee said the global security environment has been changing rapidly, with the nature of warfare "evolving into a hybrid form in which conventional combat, terrorism and cyberattacks interact in complex ways." He called for vigilance across all sectors — not just the military, but the economy and society as well — to ensure "not even the smallest gap" emerges in preparedness against security threats.

"A strong national defense is the most fundamental foundation for protecting the lives of our people and realizing an irreplaceable Republic of Korea," Lee said. He noted that South Korea is currently ranked fifth in the world in military power and is assessed as one of the top four global defense industry powers.

"In terms of weapons systems and force size, we already rank among the top few countries in the world in our ability to defend ourselves — it would not be an exaggeration to say we have more than enough," he said.

On national agenda items for strengthening defense capabilities, Lee said it is "essential to comprehensively upgrade operational capabilities across all fronts and to build a talent development system to achieve that together." He said the government would pursue the repatriation of wartime operational control within his term "without disruption, in line with the original government plan," and directed officials to "continue preparations for establishing the Korea National Military Academy without wavering."

Lee also called on all political forces to work closely together toward improving people's lives, reforming inequality and abnormality, and realizing South Korea as a globally dominant power. "Rather than engaging in pointless political infighting that ignores the people's lives and treats each other as enemies, now is the time for everyone to join hands to build an irreplaceable Republic of Korea," he said.

The appeal was seen as a call for unity within the ruling party following the conclusion of the Democratic Party of Korea's national convention on Monday, as well as an overture to the opposition for cooperation.

Lee also ordered measures to address flood damage in areas including Geoje in South Gyeongsang Province. "Although the national fire department mobilization order has been lifted in some regions that had been suffering from severe drought thanks to the recent heavy rains, drought conditions persist in others," he said. "While the rain is welcome in one sense, it has also fallen so suddenly and heavily that flood damage is mounting in a growing number of areas." He urged officials to "take good care of damage relief and recovery measures for hard-hit areas, including Geoje."

Before the Cabinet meeting, Lee chaired a full session of the Ulchi NSC, reviewing the nation's capacity to conduct a total national defense in wartime scenarios, as well as agency-level wartime transition procedures and required actions.

At the meeting, Lee asked that the Ulchi exercise "be conducted as a substantive drill to protect our people and ensure national security in the event of an emergency," adding that "while creating a peace in which there is no need to fight is paramount, we must also prepare for the worst," Cheong Wa Dae chief spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said.

"The Ulchi exercise is defensive in nature, aimed at protecting the lives and safety of our people — we have no intention of using it to attack North Korea or heighten tensions on the Korean Peninsula," Lee said. "The fundamental purpose of the Ulchi exercise is not to treat any specific party as an adversary, but to protect the safe and peaceful daily lives of our people."

Lee also issued a welfare-related message Tuesday to mark the 17th anniversary of the death of former President Kim Dae-jung. In a eulogy read on his behalf by Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik, Lee said he would "reflect on the deep conviction" of Kim, who enacted the National Basic Livelihood Security Act even during a period of extreme fiscal hardship and "declared that welfare is not charity but a right of the people and a productive investment." Lee also touched on reducing polarization and achieving growth with distribution.

Lee did not, however, address the possibility of North Korea-US dialogue on Tuesday.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump was asked by reporters at the White House on Monday (local time) why North Korean leader Kim Jong-un had not responded to offers of dialogue. "How do you know he hasn't responded?" Trump said. "Yeah, he has." Trump also described the state of talks as "very positive."