Seoul, Aug 27 (IANS): The South Korean government has sought a 3.6 per cent increase in defence spending next year to bolster capabilities to respond to evolving North Korean military threats.
The Cabinet on Tuesday endorsed the proposed budget of 61.59 trillion won (46.3 billion US dollars) for 2025, compared with 59.42 trillion won this year, reported Yonhap news agency.
The government will submit the proposal to the National Assembly next Monday. If approved, it would mark the first time South Korea's defence budget surpasses 60 trillion won.
The rate of increase in the defence budget slightly exceeds the proposed total government spending increase of 3.2 per cent.
"Despite the government's stringent approach to sound fiscal policy, it has prioritised the defence sector by considering the grave internal and external security situation," the ministry said in a release.
Of the proposed budget, the ministry seeks to spend 18.07 trillion won for weapons acquisitions and other projects to bolster defence capabilities, up 2.4 per cent on-year, and 43.52 trillion won for military forces operating costs, a 4.2 per cent rise from this year.
It plans to earmark 6.16 trillion won for strengthening the "three-axis" deterrence system and other related projects, including 3.2 trillion won on Kill Chain preemptive strike platform assets like F-35A stealth fighters.
Last December, South Korea signed an agreement with the US government to purchase 20 additional F-35As.
The proposal includes spending 1.53 trillion won for Korea Air and Missile Defence projects, such as the production of the Long-range Surface-to-Air Missile system, and 624.9 billion won for Korea Massive Punishment and Retaliation projects, which include upgrades to special operations helicopters.
The ministry also seeks to spend over one trillion won next year on the production of the homegrown KF-21 fighter jet scheduled to complete development in 2026.
In June, Korea Aerospace Industries Ltd., South Korea's sole fighter jet manufacturer, signed a 1.96 trillion-won deal with the state arms procurement agency to start production of 20 KF-21s.
Regarding South Korea's recent decision to significantly reduce Indonesia's financial contribution to the joint KF-21 development project, a ministry official said the shortfall will be taken into account in the 2026 budget.
The overall proposal for next year also includes a scheme to raise monthly wages for enlisted troops. The monthly base pay for a sergeant, which currently stands at 1.25 million won, is set to increase to 1.5 million won next year.