By Yoon Won-sup
Staff Reporter
President Roh Moo-hyun pledged to actively pursue restructuring the military so it can play a leading role in the national defense with the support of a strong alliance with the United States.

``The military itself should firmly conduct reforms,’’ Roh said, stressing professionalism and civil control in the military structure in a ceremony held at Army headquarters in South Chungchong Province to commemorate the 56th anniversary of Armed Forces Day Friday.

He also emphasized the need to focus the nation’s efforts on building a self-reliant defense capability.

The defense capability should include the ability to conduct military operations independently, enhance intelligence operations, maintain elite military forces and possess state-of-the-art military equipment, he explained.

Roh also underlined a balance between the nation’s self-reliant defense and the alliance with the U.S.

``When we forge an independent defense posture for our security, the ROK-U.S. alliance will develop in a more solid and future-oriented way,’’ Roh said.

The head of state made it clear that the 50-year alliance will continue its role of maintaining peace and stability on the Korean peninsula and in Northeast Asia in the future. He further said that the self-defense capability and the ROK-U.S. alliance are the two most important pillars for South Korea’s security.

With those remarks, Roh again threw weight behind ``cooperative’’ self defense in consideration of the ROK-U.S. alliance.

In March, the president said at a ceremony to commission graduates of the Korean Military Academy that he will try to lay the groundwork within his tenure to realize the cooperative self defense of the nation in which South Korea plays the leading role for national defense in tandem with consolidation of the ROK-U.S. alliance.

Meanwhile, Roh also said Korea will seek to develop relations with its neighboring countries like China, Japan and Russia based on the traditional alliance with the U.S.

yoonwonsup@koreatimes.co.kr