20 Key Tasks for Nat`l Security Announced

The Commission for National Security Review announced Wednesday 20 key tasks for national security.

As a presidential body established after the March 26 sinking of the naval vessel Cheonan, the commission checks national security posture and devises measures to improve it. It will reexamine the state of North Korea’s threats and present a blueprint to reform the South Korean military.

A government source said, “Three subcommittees worked for a month to select key tasks, and the presidential office finalized 20 of them at a meeting Thursday. We will hold a couple of more meetings and report to President Lee Myung-bak late next month. The tasks will be passed on to the National Defense Promotion Committee for implementation in the second half of the year.”

The commission divided the tasks into three areas. The first subcommittee will evaluate the North’s threats and examine national security competence; the second will handle the domestic and external national security environments; and the third will assess Pyongyang’s threat from different perspectives.

The first subcommittee will review existing strategies, information capability and crisis management systems, and devise plans to strengthen national security posture.

The second will set up countermeasures after reevaluating the internal and external security environment and examining the perception gap between government ministries on national security.

The third will handle reform tasks such as the readjustment of asymmetry in dealing with the North’s threat, troop size, bolstering joint forces, and upgrading the organizational structure of the South Korean military.

mhpark@donga.com