South Korean defence minister threatens air attacks on North

President Lee Myung-bak's choice for new defence minister said today that South Korean jets will bomb North Korea if Pyongyang stages an attack similar to last week's deadly artillery barrage.

The tough words came as Mr 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 North Korea might attack the front-line island.