President voices outrage over North Korean attack

South Korea’s president took responsibility today for failing to protect his citizens from a deadly North Korean artillery attack, vowing tough consequences for any future aggression and expressing outrage over the “ruthlessness of the North Korean regime”.

Lee Myung-bak’s short speech to the country came as a nuclear-powered US supercarrier and a South Korean destroyer participated in joint military exercises, a united show of force nearly a week after an artillery barrage on Yeonpyeong island killed four, including two civilians.