The South Korean government has compiled a draft defense budget for next year that is 3.6 percent larger than this year, a bid to strengthen its capabilities to respond to North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats.
The government approved the entire 2025 draft budget at a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday.
Defense spending in the draft comes to 61.59 trillion won, or about 46.3 billion dollars. If approved, it will be the first time that the defense budget exceeds the 60 trillion won-mark.
The budget is expected to be predominantly allocated to bolstering the country’s three-pronged deterrence system consisting of preemptive strikes, shooting down incoming missiles and massive retaliation.
More than 8 trillion won, or about 6 billion dollars, is also expected to be spent on beefing up arms, including the full-scale mass production of KF-21 fighter jet. The aircraft is the first fighter jet being developed mainly using domestic technologies.
The government is expected to submit the budget proposal to the National Assembly next Monday.