BUSAN — Defense Minister Kang Shin-chul inspected operational readiness at the Navy Operations Command in Busan on Sept. 30 and visited the Cheonghae anti-piracy unit ahead of its deployment to the Gulf of Aden.
At the command's control center, Kang received a briefing on maritime operations, the Ministry of National Defense said.
"This sea is a sea of victory that our predecessors defended with blood and sweat," Kang said. "If the enemy provokes, respond firmly and without hesitation, as if the minister were standing right beside you."
He then received a report on deployment preparations for the 49th contingent of the Cheonghae unit, which is set to enter waters off Somalia in the Gulf of Aden in early October. The contingent will relieve the 48th rotation aboard the destroyer Wang Geon, which departed in May.
"Carry out your mission with the mindset that even in waters thousands of miles away, you stand on the front line protecting the lives and property of our people and safeguarding international peace," Kang said.
