00:00Denmark has officially expanded its conscription system.
00:02Women also have to serve in the military.
00:04That's because there is no gender when it comes to national security.
00:07Today, let's take a closer look at this topic.
00:09Let's get started.
00:10Before we begin, if you want to get the fastest international news updates in Korea,
00:14please make sure to hit the subscribe button for Census Studio.
00:17Reuters reports that Denmark now requires everyone, regardless of gender,
00:20to be subject to the draft under its new conscription system.
00:23On August 3rd, a 1,600 new conscripts in Denmark began their now-extended mandatory service,
00:28entering training camps as part of an 11-month service term instead of the previous four.
00:32The new recruits who enlisted this time are being assigned to 14 units located throughout Denmark.
00:37It's particularly noteworthy that about 20% of all conscripts are women.
00:41The service period lasts a total of 11 months.
00:44After completing five months of basic military training,
00:46the conscripts will spend the remaining six months carrying out actual operational duties.
00:50It's drawing a lot of attention that even members of the royal family are not exempt from military service.
00:55Among the list of 1,600 enlistees is Princess Isabella, who is second in line to the throne.
01:01Princess Isabella is assigned to the Gard-Hussar Regiment
01:03and must complete the full 11-month service like other conscripts.
01:07This measure followed the Danish parliament's passage of a bill last June to expand conscription.
01:12It requires women over 18 to serve in the military
01:15and increases the service period from 4 to 11 months.
01:18The Danish government is currently planning to gradually increase the number of conscripts
01:23from the current 5,000 per year to 7,500 by 2033.
01:27Currently, the Danish military has about 9,000 personnel.
01:30Of these, around 4,700 are conscripts and the remaining 4,300 are professional soldiers.
01:36However, since this number will increase to 7,500 by 2033,
01:40the total military personnel will exceed 10,000 by then.
01:43Denmark's decision to significantly strengthen its military is not only due to the ongoing
01:48security threat from Russia, but also because of strong pressure from its ally, the United States.
01:52As the U.S. asserts sovereignty over Danish-ruled Greenland,
01:55Denmark has grown increasingly alarmed about its security.
01:59Previously, Denmark's intelligence agency labeled the United States a potential security threat,
02:03indicating Denmark's ongoing caution toward the U.S.
02:06I'll discuss this further later.
02:07Denmark is preparing to deploy conscripts to Greenland,
02:10its autonomous territory, for the first time in history.
02:14A company-sized unit of about 100 conscripts will be sent to Greenland for a month
02:19to assume operational duties previously handled by professional soldiers.
02:24In particular, a notable feature of Denmark's introduction of the women's conscription system
02:28is the proactive attitude of women toward fulfilling their duties
02:30and the high level of social awareness.
02:32This stands in stark contrast to the situation in Korea.
02:35In Denmark, military service provides a real advantage for an individual's career.
02:39The job training and experience gained in the military are officially recognized
02:42as work experience in the job market and the economic compensation and welfare benefits
02:47provided during the service period are also set at a very high level.
02:50With quality treatment and institutional support,
02:52Danish women now view military service as not just as an obligation,
02:56but as an opportunity for professional growth.
02:58Before the system was formalized,
03:00women's organizations and civil society already pushed for women's conscription
03:04to promote gender equality.
03:06This is because there is a deep-rooted awareness that sharing the duty of national defense
03:10is the true completion of gender equality and the exercise of rights.
03:14This trend of introducing a women's conscription system is not limited to Denmark alone.
03:18Many European countries facing security concerns
03:21are considering women's conscription to boost military personnel and defense readiness.
03:26In particular, Germany and Switzerland are most actively discussing the introduction
03:30of conscription for women as a key alternative to solve the problem of troop shortages
03:34and to reorganize overall military capacity.
03:37Anyway, the key issue we need to focus on closely is the United States' attempt to annex Greenland.
03:41President Trump continues to insist Greenland should be American territory,
03:45causing the Danish government to feel a major security threat.
03:48According to a report by the Independent,
03:50as President Trump is strongly pushing for the annexation of Greenland,
03:53a Danish autonomous territory, under the pretext of national security,
03:57Denmark's decision to directly deploy troops to Greenland
03:59is considered to have significant political leverage.
04:02President Trump has personally presented a bold prediction
04:05that he will ensure Greenland comes under American control
04:07before his term ends in January 2029.
04:10He has consistently argued that securing Greenland is crucial for America's national security
04:15and insists the U.S. must expand its influence in the Arctic.
04:19He highlighted how Russia and China are aggressively expanding
04:22their military and economic power in the Arctic.
04:24He repeatedly stresses that if the United States doesn't control Greenland,
04:28it will lose a key strategic edge to hostile rivals.
04:31President Trump's comments about annexing Greenland are not a recent development.
04:36He has openly expressed his intention to annex Greenland
04:38since his previous presidential term,
04:40and he even boldly mentioned a concrete plan
04:42to directly purchase Greenland from Denmark.
04:45At the time, his view of a sovereign nation's territory
04:47as something to sell caused major shock and controversy internationally.
04:50The Danish government and Greenlandic authorities immediately expressed strong opposition,
04:55firmly maintaining that Greenland is absolutely not something
04:58that can be bought or sold for money.
05:00However, as the United States continued to make such demands,
05:03Denmark ultimately had no choice but to strengthen its military power
05:06in order to protect Greenland.
05:08There's another key reason the Danish government
05:10chose to replace professional soldiers in Greenland with conscripts.
05:15By directly stationing conscripted soldiers in Greenland,
05:17Denmark also clearly expressed its firm intention
05:20to not tolerate any U.S. attempt to annex Greenland.
05:23However, at the same time, a major factor was the practical military objective
05:26of fulfilling the strong requests made by NATO to the Danish military authorities.
05:31This year, NATO officially delivered a significant request to Denmark
05:34demanding the creation of a new brigade-level unit
05:36capable of maintaining a constant state of combat readiness.
05:39In order to quickly organize a final brigade-level unit
05:42and establish a continuous combat readiness posture in line with NATO's demands,
05:46it was absolutely necessary for the military
05:48to have experienced veteran professional soldiers.
05:50However, in the past, a significant number of experienced professional soldiers
05:54had been stationed in Greenland for extended periods,
05:56carrying out their missions there.
05:58Accordingly, the Danish military had to take measures
06:00to urgently recall the professional soldiers stationed in Greenland back to Denmark
06:03in order to form the core force of the new brigade-level unit required by NATO.
06:07To fill the vacancies left by the professional soldiers recalled to Denmark,
06:11conscripts who had completed their training
06:12were strategically deployed to Greenland as replacements.
06:15This reflects the meticulous calculation of the Danish military authorities,
06:19who aim to concentrate their limited elite professional forces
06:21in the country's key combat brigades
06:23while minimizing the security vacuum in the vast Greenland region.
06:26Some have analyzed that this entire series of events
06:29was part of President Trump's plan.
06:30In fact, Denmark's defense spending was quite restrained until just a few years ago.
06:35Until 2022, Denmark's defense spending remained at about 1.1% of its GDP.
06:41Denmark, along with Austria, along with Sweden and the Netherlands
06:44was traditionally known as one of the frugal four in the European Union,
06:47being very cautious and restrained about allocating budgets to security and defense.
06:52The full-scale war in Ukraine marked a major shift in Denmark's security policy.
06:56In 2023, Denmark sharply increased its defense budget to 2.01% of its GDP
07:02and for the first time in history achieved NATO's minimum defense spending target
07:06of 2% that has been demanded of member countries.
07:09In addition, when President Trump openly revealed his blatant ambition
07:12to forcibly annex the autonomous territory of Greenland,
07:15Denmark felt an extreme sense of security crisis
07:17and once again significantly increased its defense budget.
07:20As a result, by 2026, Denmark's defense spending as a percentage of GDP reached as high as 3%.
07:26Ironically, the goal of strengthening the defense capabilities of European countries,
07:29which President Trump had persistently and strongly demanded,
07:32was rapidly achieved due to the strong political pressure
07:35and annexation threats imposed by President Trump himself.
07:38This recent move to strengthen defense capabilities is not limited to changes in Denmark alone.
07:43NATO is calling on member countries to adopt a permanent combat readiness
07:46and is formally demanding the formation and deployment of strong brigade-level units.
07:50As a result of massively expanding rapid-deployment brigade units
07:53that can be immediately sent to various parts of Europe,
07:55including the Eastern European Front,
07:57the number of military bases capable of responding to a full-scale war
08:00is increasing significantly.
08:01At the same time, across the entire European continent,
08:03there are enormous changes taking place
08:05as the defense industry structure is being reorganized into a wartime production system.
08:08Countries are running production lines for key military supplies
08:10like ammunition, shells, and missiles
08:12that had previously been scaled back at full capacity,
08:15greatly boosting output.
08:16The European Union is raising major funds for joint military procurement,
08:21strengthening the defense supply chain,
08:22and steadily implementing rearmament measures.
08:25Europe's rearmament is advancing faster and on a larger scale
08:28than at any time since the Cold War.
08:30Europe's security landscape is rapidly transforming,
08:33driven by major increases in military resources,
08:36defense spending,
08:36and large-scale purchases of advanced weapon systems
08:39at a pace unlike before.
08:40...
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08:41You
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