LOC10:36
07:36 GMT
TOKYO, Dec 3 (KUNA) -- South Korea's defense minister-designate said Friday
his country will respond with air strikes should North Korea stage further
attacks, Yonhap News Agency reported. "We will definitely air raid North
Korea," Kim Kwan-jin said in Seoul, answering questions at his confirmation
hearing about what the South's response would be if struck again by the North,
according to the report.
Noting that the North's provocations have been unpredictable and rising in
intensity, the nominee said there was a possibility that an attack could come
in an "entirely unexpected way."
A former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Kim, 61, was tapped for the
top defense post a week ago, just days after a South Korean border island came
under deadly artillery attack on Nov. 23 by North Korea. Four people -- two
civilians and two marines -- were killed.
Outgoing minister Kim Tae-young was let go after unrelenting criticism that
the military that he led was too weak and late in responding to the North,
which fired some 170 rounds of artillery that fell on and near Yeonpyeong
Island.
Although intelligence and military officials say the South's counterfire
caused "substantial" damage to the North, the evidence they provided, mostly
satellite images, is heavily disputed, with some experts claiming that the
South's shelling entirely missed intended targets.
The nominee emphasized that he wants to make the military combat-ready with
a great deal of field experience. For a timely response to any attack, he said
the military will distinguish its rules of engagement from self-defense.
The South, when attacked, will use all its combat capabilities to
"completely remove the source of the threat from the enemy," he said.
He predicted that South Korean naval ships and propaganda loudspeakers in
front-line areas can become targets of the next attack by the North. Asked if
Seoul would reinstate North Korea as the "main enemy," Kim said, "It is clear
that the North Korean military and its leader are our main enemies." (end)
mk.rk
KUNA 031036 Dec 10NNNN