KB News Desk
President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday raised concerns over the use of unloaded weapons by some front-line units, stressing there is no room for even the smallest gap when it comes to national security.
Addressing the Ministry of National Defense at a policy briefing Wednesday, Lee pointed out the Army’s operational guideline that had allowed the 1st Corps on the western front to carry unchambered guns during guard post and general outpost duties for years.
“The idea that troops can respond promptly by simply inserting (a magazine), rather than carrying chambered firearms and risking accidents, may seem reasonable in ordinary life,” Lee said. “However, it cannot be applied to national defense.”
Lee compared the situation to an ancient state storing its strongest mulberry wood arrows in an armory. As peace persists and maintaining the best weapons become costly, the state would gradually replace them with bamboo arrows, and eventually with weak reed arrows.
“One might think ‘surely, a war won’t break out,’ but that is unacceptable in national security,” Lee said. “If we pull back step by step like that, we would find ourselves with an empty armory.”
