South Korea: We Will Bomb North if Attacked Again

But some still question the president's willingness to attack
By Kate Seamons,  Newser Staff
Posted Dec 3, 2010 8:20 AM CST
South Korea: We Will Bomb North if Attacked Again
South Korean Marines check "Cheonma", self-propelled surface-to-air missile system, on Baengnyeong Island, South Korea.   (AP Photo/Yonhap, Lee Ji-un)

South Korea is done taking crap from the North: It will deploy jets to bomb North Korea if Pyongyang attacks it again, said President Lee Myung-bak's newly appointed defense minister today. "In case the enemy attacks our territory and people again, we will thoroughly retaliate to ensure that the enemy cannot provoke again," said Kim Kwan-jin in a parliamentary confirmation hearing.

But the LA Times notes that doubts linger regarding Lee's ability and desire to stand up to the North, pointing to the fact that South Korea returned only 80 rounds after the North fired 170 rounds at it in the Nov. 23 attack. A South Korea news agency reported today that North Korea now has 5,200 rockets—an increase of about 100—capable of striking Seoul.
(More North Korea stories.)

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