The military is set to expand its investment budget into a three-pronged defense system in the wake of North Korea’s advancing nuclear and missile threats.
On Tuesday, the government announced a 2023 defense budget of 57-point-13 trillion won to be submitted to the National Assembly on Friday, up four-point-six percent from this year.
The government raised the budget for the three-pronged system comprising the Kill Chain, the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation and the Korea Air and Missile Defense by nine-point-four percent to five-point-25 trillion won.
The budget also earmarked six-point-64 trillion won to reinforce the military's operational response, one-point-four trillion won for technological development and 68-point-three billion won for space and cyber reconnaissance capabilities.
The allocation for strategic operations was set at 40-point-11 trillion won, while defense development is set to see an injection of 17-point-02 trillion won next year, a two-percent on-year increase.
Despite the rise in upgrading defense capability, funding for specific aspects such as ships and aircraft decreased, resulting in the category accounting for less than 30 percent of the overall defense budget. The Defense Acquisition Program Administration attributed the slashed budgets to the completion of major projects such as the KF-21 fighter jet and the Aegis-equipped KDX-III destroyer.
Source: KBS World Radio