President Lee Jae Myung fires a K2C1 rifle during a visit to a Marine Corps unit on Yeonpyeong Island near the Northern Limit Line, the de facto sea border with North Korea in the Yellow Sea, on Thursday to mark the 76th anniversary the next day of the outbreak of the 1950-53 Korean War. (Pool photo via Yonhap) President Lee Jae Myung on Wednesday renewed his pledge to reduce South Korea's reliance on conscription and expand the role of professional military personnel during a visit to a front-line Marine Corps unit.During the trip to Yeonpyeong Island near the western maritime border with North Korea, Lee inspected key Marine Corps weapons systems, climbed aboard a K9 self-propelled howitzer and took part in a live-fire exercise, firing rifles while wearing a bulletproof vest and helmet.Lee's trip came during the week marking the anniversary of the outbreak of the 1950–53 Korean War, which falls on Thursday.Visiting the Marine Corps' Yeonpyeong Unit, Lee said South Korea's military would need to adapt to both demographic challenges and the rapid evolution of military technology."As I have promised on several occasions, we will minimize the number of conscripts and create a system in which people can choose military service as their profession through recruitment," Lee told troops during a luncheon meeting. President Lee Jae Myung inspects artillery equipment at the Marine Corps' Yeonpyeong Unit in Ongjin County, Incheon, on Wednesday. (Yonhap) The president also reaffirmed his commitment to raising defense spending."As we pledged, we have decided to increase defense spending to 3.5 percent of GDP, which means we will have to spend substantially more on national defense than we do now," Lee said. "That spending should not become wasteful expenditure. Instead, it should be used to strengthen the capabilities of our military personnel and to create new opportunities and hope for young people."Lee further underscored the importance of peace backed by military strength."Far more important is winning without fighting. There is an even more important stage: creating a situation in which there is no need to fight at all. That is peace," Lee said. "Peace is both the goal and the strongest foundation of security."Lee added that his administration would undertake a broad overhaul of the armed forces."We will comprehensively transform the Republic of Korea's armed forces and military into a future-oriented force and strengthen your capabilities so that it can be reborn as a powerful military that the nation can proudly present to the world," Lee said, referring to South Korea by its official name. President Lee Jae Myung takes aim with a K6 heavy machine gun while aboard a K9A1 self-propelled howitzer during a visit to the Marine Corps' Yeonpyeong Unit in Ongjin County, Incheon, on Wednesday. (Pool Photo via Yonhap) The trip marked Lee's first visit to Yeonpyeong Island since taking office. The island, located near the de facto maritime border known as the Northern Limit Line, was shelled by North Korea in 2010 in one of the deadliest attacks on South Korean territory since the Korean War.During the visit, Lee inspected a range of Marine Corps weapons systems, including K1E1 tanks, Spike precision-guided missiles, Bigung guided rockets, Chunmoo multiple rocket launchers and K9A1 self-propelled howitzers.Lee later climbed onto a K9A1 howitzer for a closer look at the artillery system deployed on the island.He heard requests from troops on issues ranging from transportation costs and medical services to recreational facilities and leave policies.The visit also included a stop at a firing range, where Lee watched troops conduct live-fire drills with K1A1, K2C1 and K15 weapons before taking part in the exercise himself.Wearing a bulletproof vest and helmet, Lee fired 10 rounds from a rifle and hit the target with all 10 shots.Lee later moved to the Yeonpyeong Peace Observatory, where he was briefed on the security situation around the Northern Limit Line and nearby North Korean-held islands.Military officials told him that Chinese fishing boats were operating near the sensitive maritime boundary, prompting Lee to call for stronger measures against illegal fishing in the area."We should not allow Chinese vessels, rather than North Korean vessels, to come into sensitive border areas and create tensions."