Evaluation of the Moon Jae-in Administration's Defense Policy and Military Strategy

In the peaceful mood of inter-Korean reconciliation and cooperation, defense policy was often faced with the dilemma of confronting the conflicting strategic demands of maintaining firm defense posture and building military confidence. As North Korea policy occupies a key position in the national security strategy, it has had a significant impact on defense policy, which has led to ideological cleavage and confusion in the formulation of policies and strategies. This paper evaluates the Moon Jae-in Administration's defense policy from the perspective of the dynamics between politics and the military. The core argument of the paper is that political influence in the military field has been excessively exerted in the process of inter-Korean military agreement and its implementation which has led to the detriment of the overall defense policy and the establishment of military strategy. In the process of arms control, careful examination and judgment at the military and strategic levels were not properly reflected, leaving many questions in the historical evaluation of the September 19 military agreement. The military has focused on tangible measures to implement the military agreement, and as a result, efforts and capabilities to build a counter strategies and system to North Korea's nuclear threat have been dispersed. These cases suggest the importance of prudent and rational judgment from the standpoint of national interest on the “proposition” that the military should be subordinated to “political” purposes, and that a strategy is needed to prepare for changes in North-South relations in the long term.