Air-strikes threat to North Korea

PRESIDENT Lee Myung-bak’s choice for new defence minister said yesterday that South Korean jets will bomb North Korea if it stages an attack similar to last week’s barrage.

The tough words came as Lee’s government suffered intense criticism that the response to the North’s November 23 shelling on a South Korean island was weak, and over a stunning revelation that the South’s spy chief dismissed information in August indicating that North Korea might attack the frontline island.

Lee’s nominee, Kim Kwan-jin, told a parliamentary confirmation hearing that North Korean aggression will result in air-strikes.