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.<br />Despite the recent thaw in tensions with North Korea,... it represents to biggest annual hike in defense spending in years.<br />Our defense ministry correspondent Park Ji-won has more. <br />The South Korean government is hiking its national defense budget by eight-point-two percent to about 42 billion U.S. dollars next year.<br />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.<br />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.<br />The ministry added the approval shows the National Assembly's firm support for a strong national defense posture. <br />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.<br />The ministry aims to use the funds to make the armed forces smarter and more efficient.<br />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.<br />Troops will also get more medical support, receive better training,... and living conditions in barracks will be enhanced.<br />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. <br />This category saw a more than 13 percent increase compared to the last budget. <br />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.<br />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.<br />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. <br />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.<br />Another ten million dollars has been set aside for projects linked to the recovery of Korean War remains.<br />Park Ji-won, Arirang News. <br />
