ISTANBUL

South Korea’s new defense minister, the first civilian to hold the post in recent decades, vowed Friday to establish lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.

Ahn Gyu-back, a 64-year-old ruling Democratic Party lawmaker, was appointed by President Lee Jae-myung following weeks of parliamentary confirmation hearings. He is the first non-military defense minister since1961 military coup.

According to Yonhap News Agency, Ahn pledged to "militarily support efforts to establish peace on the Korean Peninsula," while keeping “doors open for dialogue” and strengthening deterrence.

His appointment comes as Seoul has taken steps to de-escalate tensions with North Korea, including halting propaganda broadcasts and barring civil society groups from sending anti-Pyongyang leaflets across the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ).

Ahn also vowed to rebuild public trust in the armed forces amid an ongoing investigation into a failed martial law attempt by ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol. The defense ministry post had remained vacant since Yoon’s defense chief, Kim Yong-hyun, resigned in December over his alleged role in the incident.

At the ministry, Ahn called on the military to “strictly adhere to political neutrality and focus on its duty of protecting the people from external threats.”

He also vowed to strengthen defense cooperation network based on the South Korea-US alliance, calling it a “linchpin” of national security.

During his confirmation hearings, Ahn said the Lee administration would seek to regain wartime operational control of South Korean forces from the US, according to Nikkei Asia news outlet

Under a defense treaty, US has deployed more than 28,500 troops in South Korea after the inter-Korean war in 1950s ended in an armistice, not ceasefire, effectively keeping divided Koreas in to state of war.

Any such change in command would require "in-depth conversations with the US,” Ahn said, expressing hope that the transfer would take place during President Lee’s five-year term, which began in June, according to Nikkei Asia.