TOKYO, Dec 6 (KUNA) -- South Korea's new defense minister said Monday he ordered his military to exercise the right of self-defense if North Korea attacks the South again, allowing the South's military to quickly respond with force, Seoul's media reported.
Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin, who took office Saturday after his predecessor resigned amid mounting criticism for the country's feeble response to the North's attack on a front-line island on November 23, said the right of self-defense means "we can immediately retaliate if North Korea provokes first, " according to Yonhap News Agency.
Kim, a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the right of self-defense will be applied separately from the rules of engagement to allow the military to respond faster and with more muscle.
The current rules of engagement, jointly governed by US troops stationed in the South, are more focused on preventing a military skirmish with the North from escalating to a greater conflict.
"The extent to which we invoke the right of self-defense is until the enemy surrenders its will for provocation," said Kim. "From now on, such principles won't be applied if North Korea attacks first." For instance, if there is another attack like the November 23 shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, South Korea will use fighter jets and bomb the North's artillery bases so that the North cannot provoke again, Kim said.
Also, work is underway to make the rules of engagement more aggressive, giving more power to commanders in the field, Kim said. Two civilians and two marines were killed by the North's artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island, marking the first assault on a civilian area in South Korea since the 1950-53 Korean War.
Earlier in the day, South Korea started seven-day live-fire drills off all three coasts of the Korean Peninsula. North Korea on Sunday lashed out at the South's drills that it said are "rapidly driving the situation on the Korean Peninsula to an uncontrollable extreme phase." Asked about the North's latest threat, Kim replied, "I don't dwell on North Korea's response as it does not deserve even a little consideration. North Korea is acting the way it always did." As for concerns that South Korea's tough retaliation may lead to an all-out war, Kim played down such a possibility, saying North Korea isn't ready for a full-scale war because of its moribund economy and internal instability due to an ongoing power transfer from leader Kim Jong-il to his youngest son. (end) mk.asa KUNA 061110 Dec 10NNNN