Asia-Pacific
ROK's president urges stronger military after incident
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-05-04 11:14
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SEOUL - South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on Tuesday called for stronger military at an unprecedented meeting with the country's top military commanders, following a mysterious naval incident in late March that some say revealed a security hole.
"What has been clear is that Cheonan's sinking wasn't just a simple accident," the president told 150 commanders from the Army, Navy and Air Force in a nationally broadcast speech. "I had a hunch that it was a grave international issue involving relations between South Korea and North Korea (DPRK)," he said, adding that he ordered the military authorities to seek international cooperation on the issue.
Investigators looking into the mysterious incident, said to be one of the worst peacetime tragedies, announced last month that a powerful external explosion at a close range, possibly caused by a torpedo or sea mine detonation, most likely caused the incident.
Pyongyang is widely speculated by local media here to have had a hand in the incident, despite its flat-out dismissal of the allegation.
"As soon as the cause is determined, we will let the whole world know. And I will take clear and resolute measures in response," Lee said.
He said the government plans to establish a temporary presidential body tasked with comprehensive security assessment as part of efforts to shore up South Korea's security system, which lately came under fire in the wake of the incident.
Lee also urged an overall military reform, stressing the need to revamp hierarchical and bureaucratic organization.
