hankyoreh

For his first official appearance since taking office, Defense Minister Shin Won-sik visited the combat control room at the headquarters of the Joint Chiefs of Staff on Saturday. There, he instructed that the military “retaliate immediately, retaliate forcefully, and retaliate completely if an enemy provokes us, under the principle that retaliation is deterrence and deterrence equals peace.”

This is reminiscent of Shin’s time as a division commander 13 years ago. In late 2010, when military tensions were high due to North Korea’s shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, Shin, then the commander of the 3rd Infantry Division (known as the White Skulls), coined a series of “resolutions” for his division.

“Let’s thrash the North Korean puppet army, let’s give Kim and son a good beating,” read one.

“The best medicine for a mad dog is a lashing!” said another.

“A posthumous execution for Kim Il-sung, the most torturous executions for Jong-il and Jong-un!” declared a third.

“Let’s drive bayonets into the North Korean puppet army’s chests,” read another.

The slogans could be found all around Shin’s unit. Soldiers chanted these slogans before meetings, meals, and roll call. The slogans were also written on the outside of the unit’s walls.

When residents of Cheorwon County, near the DMZ, expressed to the unit that the slogans were concerning to the families of soldiers during visits to the unit, especially since inter-Korean relations were so bad at the time, the response they received was that such measures were necessary for the “mental education” of soldiers.

In a speech marking his appointment, Shin was emotion on the topic of his return to the military after eight years, saying, “My country has called me, and so I stand here after dusting off my armor and polishing the rust on my spear to repay the country’s grace by offering up my life.”

But Shin is no longer a division commander of a combat unit that chants for tortuous executions for Jong-un, nor is he the director of operations for the Joint Chiefs. The minister of national defense is not a representative of the military, but a civilian member of the Cabinet who commands and supervises the military on behalf of the civilian population — a principle known as civilian control.

For a country to seek peace, it must apply all the means of national power —diplomatic, information, military and economic — not just military power. Focusing solely on “retaliative deterrence” may have the effect of preventing North Korean provocations, but if North Korea does continue with such provocations, it is likely to lead to a full-scale escalation.

North Korea has no incentive to refrain from escalation in the first place, as it is certain to face massive retaliation once any armed conflict erupts. The minister of defense should think about strategy beyond the level of battles and operations and should also ponder on strategic messages.

By Kwon Hyuk-chul, staff reporter

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