South Korean President Appoints a New Defense Minister
The artillery North Korean attack against a South Korean island that killed 4 and injured many caused the South Korean defense minister Kim Tae-young to resign on Thursday, as a result of the hard criticism related to the slow response of the South Korean army to the Northern counterpart.
As a result, South Korean president Lee Myung-bak has named Kim Kwan-jin, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as the new defense minister.
Also on Friday General Walter Sharp, commander of the United Nations Command, visited the island of Yeonpyeong to assess the damage the North Korean army has caused, and to speak to military commanders.
He called for the North to stop any further attacks and send representatives to meet the U.N. commander.
Meanwhile, North Korean propaganda has slammed the new common South Korean-U.S. military drills, saying they are aimed at the North.
Artillery fire was heard in the North on Friday but no shell was reported to have landed on the South’s territory.
After the attack, South Korea said it would increase the military presence in the Yeonpyeong island, and will revise its military engagement, so that a more aggressive reply be possible in the future, if need be.
Pyongyang has made threats that they would attack again if the South provokes them again.
China has been under a lot of international pressure to restrain its ally, the North Korean regime, from attacking the South again. As a result China has issued a statement calling for peace and refraining from any other violent attacks.
Furthermore, China called for the creation of conditions to resume the six-party discussions about the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula, talks that were interrupted last year because of the international sanctions imposed by the U.S. on North Korea.
North Korea fired 100 shells at Yeonpyeong island on Tuesday, causing 4 people to die, damage of the houses, and 1,600 people to flee the island.
The Southern republic fired back some 80 shells at the Northern batteries that generated the attack.
U.S. State Secretary Hillary Clinton reaffirmed yesterday that U.S. stands with its ally, South Korea, and will defend it.
North Korea claims that the island in question is part of its territory.
