By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
President Lee Myung-bak called for a stronger defense posture against possible North Korean provocation, Wednesday.
Lee made the remark during a visit to a marine base near the inter-Korean maritime border in the West Sea, where tension was running high following recent artillery drills by North Korea's military.
The North lobbed hundreds of artillery shells towards the western maritime border, or the Northern Limit Line (NLL), last month after declaring areas north of the NLL "no-sail" zones. The two Koreas had naval skirmishes in 1999, 2002, and 2009 in the sea lying between the Korean Peninsula and China.
Lee's aides said that his trip to the Second Marine Corps base in Ganghwa, some 60 kilometers west of Seoul, was to give a pep talk to the troops.
"It is a routine tour by the president ahead of the Lunar New Year's holiday, aimed at giving words of cheer to soldiers on duty," said a presidential spokesman.
It was the first time the president has visited a Marine base since he took office in early 2008. Previously, he made similar trips to Army and Air Force bases.
Following a luncheon meeting with the marines, Lee also visited a tank unit in Gimpo.
In its latest threat, North Korea said it would retaliate against any attempt by Seoul to "topple its regime," citing an unconfirmed South Korean news report that the government has drawn up a contingency plan in anticipation of a sudden collapse of the communist state.
No unusual military signs have been detected in North Korea since its firing of the artillery salvos, according to defense officials.