| Submit your comments on this article |
| China-Japan-Koreas |
| Lee reviews national security posture before trip to Washington |
| 2009-06-15 |
| SEOUL, June 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak convened a meeting of security-related ministers on Sunday to review contingency plans in case of a North Korean provocation during his upcoming trip to the United States, Lee's aides said. The meeting came a day after the North issued a verbal threat to take military action against any U.S.-led attempt to form a "blockade" around it. The warning was a response to a U.N. Security Council resolution punishing Pyongyang for its latest nuclear test by calling for tighter cargo inspections and an arms embargo. The defiant communist nation also announced a plan to produce more plutonium-based nuclear bombs and begin an uranium enrichment program. South Korean officials took the threats seriously, noting the North has put its threats into actions including the second nuclear test. "President Lee instructed the ministers to take thorough measures so that the people can be free from care about national security during (his) trip to the United States," said Kim Eun-hye, a spokesperson at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae. Lee is scheduled to head for Washington on Monday for a summit with U.S. President Barack Obama. Their meeting is expected to focus on ways to deal with North Korea. Lee will return to Seoul on Friday. It is not unusual for the president to hold such meetings before taking overseas trips, the official added. Another Cheong Wa Dae official said the security meeting was aimed at "preparing for a possible provocation from North Korea, although the possibility of such an action appears slim, while President Lee is visiting the U.S." In attendance were Prime Minister Han Seung-soo, Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan, Unification Minister Hyun In-taek, Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee, National Intelligence Service chief Won Sei-hoon, and Kim Sung-hwan, senior secretary to the president for foreign affairs and security. The defense minister was quoted as saying in the meeting that, "We can't rule out the possibility that North Korea could provoke an armed conflict. We will counter it decisively through cooperation with the U.S." |
| Posted by:Steve White |