a former minister who is now fighting to end it in his country, too. He takes the North Korean threat seriously. But what good, he asks, is “wielding a gun and not much more” when military strength is now based on sophisticated technology? He frets that abusers foment internal division, too. The armed forces have long used national security as a reason for keeping conscription and fending off civilian oversight. Proponents of a standing army, like Mr Kim, argue that South Korea’s security would be better served by just the opposite.