The nation has launched a new organization dedicated to the development of artificial intelligence(AI) to bolster its military defense capabilities. 

The national defense AI center was launched in a ceremony on Monday at the Agency for Defense Development with defense minister Shin Won-sik, science minister Lee Jong-ho and senior military officials in attendance. 

The center comprising some 110 private researchers and military personnel plans to develop AI-enabled manned and unmanned complex systems and other key technologies including one type that enables superior battleground awareness. 

It will also support the planning of AI needs in the military and strengthen collaboration between the industry, academia, and research institutions to apply private AI technology to the military. 

Kwak Ki-ho, the chief of the new center, vowed to make the center a think tank and a hub for research and development for the country’s national defense AI technology. 

Defense minister Shin said that the launch has accelerated the creation of a strong military with advanced science and technology, vowing to secure cutting-edge AI-based defense capabilities to build a national defense force that realizes peace through power.