Lee orders all public officials to remain alert

By Na Jeong-ju

President Lee Myung-bak said Monday the country’s artillery drill near the sea border with North Korea was aimed to defend its territory and protect people’s lives and property.

“South Korea has the right to hold military drills for territorial defense as a sovereign country. No other country can meddle in it,” Lee said after the military conducted the 90-minute live-fire exercise on Yeonpyeong, a border island in the West Sea that was attacked by North Korea last month, despite the North’s threat of retaliation.

He also ordered all public servants and government agencies to remain high alert over possible provocation by the North Korean military, according to Hong Sang-pyo, presidential secretary for public relations.

“The President didn’t talk much about the drill,” Hong told reporters. “He instructed the Cabinet and his staff to stay on full alert when he visited the crisis management center at the underground bunker of Cheong Wa Dae.”

Last week, North Korea warned of immediate self-defensive strikes against the military exercise, but it has showed few signs of taking military action as of 8:00 p.m.

During a policy briefing session, held hours before the artillery drill began, Lee called for national unity to counter North Korea, saying the communist country may attempt to divide South Korean society.

“No matter how strong our military may be, the North will provoke again if our nation is divided,” Lee said. “We should unite together to deter North Korean aggression.”

South Korean officials said the exercise was a routine and legitimate one that had been held regularly for a long time to defend the western border islands.

Representatives from the Armistice Commission and the United Nations Command took part in the drill as observers.

“The drill was part of our rights to defend our country and was conducted within our territory,” a foreign ministry official said on condition of anonymity.

On Saturday, Gen. Walter Sharp, commander of the U.S. Forces in Korea and head of the S. Korea-U.S. Combined Forces Command, and U.S. Ambassador to Seoul Kathleen Stephens visited Cheong Wa Dae to meet with security advisors to President Lee.

During their talks with Chun Young-woo, senior presidential secretary for foreign and security affairs, Sharp and Stephens reaffirmed their support for the exercise and America’s commitment to a strong defense alliance with South Korea, a presidential spokesman said.

“They exchanged opinions on the situation in the West Sea,” the spokesman said on condition of anonymity. “Expressing deep concerns about possible provocation by North Korea in the wake of the firing drill, Sharp and Stephens called for strong combat readiness and reaffirmed the defense alliance between Seoul and Washington.”

The aide denied speculation that U.S. officials asked Seoul to reconsider the exercise out of concern that it could provoke North Korea, saying, “They reassured us that they would go with us whatever happens.”