With South Korea's National Assembly passing the budget over the weekend,... we now know that the country will set aside more than 40 billion U.S. dollars for defense in 2019.
Despite the recent thaw in tensions with North Korea,... it represents to biggest annual hike in defense spending in years.
Our defense ministry correspondent Park Ji-won has more.
The South Korean government is hiking its national defense budget by eight-point-two percent to about 42 billion U.S. dollars next year.
It's the biggest yearly expansion in the defense budget since 2008,... and almost double the average annual increase of four-point-four percent seen from 2010 to 2017.
The Ministry of National Defense says it received the same amount the government requested earlier this year, but some re-adjustments within the budget were made by lawmakers during the deliberation process.
The ministry added the approval shows the National Assembly's firm support for a strong national defense posture.
The biggest chunk of the defense budget -- some 28 billion dollars -- is for the maintenance of troops and military assets,... a hike of five-point-seven percent from the previous year.
The ministry aims to use the funds to make the armed forces smarter and more efficient.
It will do so by improving training methods as well as upgrading uniforms and combat gear to bring them in line with cutting-edge military technology.
Troops will also get more medical support, receive better training,... and living conditions in barracks will be enhanced.
Around 14 billion dollars will be spent on the development and improvement of defense capabilities,... such as the acquisition of state-of-the-art weaponry like aircraft and naval destroyers.
This category saw a more than 13 percent increase compared to the last budget.
About four-point-five billion dollars will be spent on establishing the three-pronged military strategy to counter North Korean threats,... as well as future unknown threats.
They are namely the Kill Chain pre-emptive strike system, the Korean Air and Missile Defense system,... and the Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation strategy.
Another four-point-seven billion dollars will go toward strengthening the command control system,... in line with preparations for the transfer of wartime operational control from Washington to Seoul.
About nine-million dollars has been allocated for the implementation of the inter-Korean military agreement,... such as the removal of some front-line guard posts in the Demilitarized Zone.
Another ten million dollars has been set aside for projects linked to the recovery of Korean War remains.
Park Ji-won, Arirang News.
