Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin said if North Korea makes any more provocations to South Korea, the commanding officer at the Northwest Islands Defense Command should respond sternly without hesitance.

Kim said at the command’s launching ceremony on Wednesday that such a posture exemplifies the right of self defense and how the guideline of “respond first, report later” is conducted.

The minister said that the South Korean military has been strengthening its combat-readiness towards North Korea’s provocations. He said that South Korea would secure the upper hand in operations in the frontline islands in the Yellow Sea and thoroughly suppress North Korea’s endless attempts to nullify the maritime inter-Korean border, the Northern Limit Line.

Kim also said that the South Korean military would clearly show the public its resolve to defend every inch of South Korean territory and every single South Korean. He said that he would step up efforts to reforming South Korea’s defense by boosting the military’s combat capabilities in order to gain the public’s trust.