President Moon Jae-in said the government and military will sternly respond to any act that threatens the lives and safety of the South Korean people while boosting vigilance and preparedness. 

Moon made the remarks on Friday during a ceremony making the nation’s 72nd Armed Forces Day at the Special Warfare Command in Icheon, Gyeonggi Province. 

He said peace can be established, guarded and promoted if a defense readiness that no one can challenge is put in place.  

The president apparently made such remarks with the killing of a South Korean official in western waters earlier this week in mind.  

In the wake of the incident, the top office is said to have revised Moon’s speech at the last minute. However, it did not directly mention the incident nor North Korea. 

In his speech, Moon mainly focused on presenting a future vision for the nation’s military. He said in the future, the military must respond to not only traditional security threats but also to non-military threats, including infectious diseases, terrorism and natural disasters.  

He stressed the need to make a digitally strong military and realize a “smart’ national defense in order to be prepared for new concepts and forms of war that will emerge in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.