 President Lee Myung-bak, third from right, pledges allegiance in an annual security meeting at Cheong Wa Dae, Friday. He is flanked by Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin, left, and Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik. / Yonhap |
By Lee Tae-hoon
President Lee Myung-bak has called on the nation to unite and prepare for North Korea’s further armed provocations in an annual defense meeting of top military commanders, ministers and presidential aides Friday.
“The military, police, government and civil sectors must work together to help make our citizens excel at the field they have focused on,” President Lee was quoted as saying by a Cheong Wa Dae official.
President Lee added that non-military units should also find their roles in order to contribute to countering Pyongyang’s possible provocations.
During the meeting, Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik said the North may renew its military provocations, given its diplomatic isolation and dire economic trouble.
"North Korea is not showing a responsible attitude," Kim said. "Seeing the situation in North Korea, there is a chance of another military provocation. So, (the military) should be fully prepared."
Kim underlined that that robust national security guarantees "survival and future prosperity."
Tensions remain high on the Korean Peninsula as the North refuses to apologize for the two deadly military attacks against the South last year or promise no more recurrences.
An international probe concluded last year that the South Korean frigate was torpedoed by a North Korean submarine near the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto sea border, last March. The tragic incident took the lives of 46 of the sailors onboard.
In late November, the Stalinist North also unleashed a surprise artillery barrage on Yeonpyeong Island near the NLL in the West Sea, killing four people, including two civilians.
The North has adamantly denied involvement in the sinking and claimed that its artillery attack on Yeonpyeong was legitimate because the South provoked it by holding a live-fire drill near the island with some shells falling on the North's side.
South and North Korea remain technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty.
