THE South Korean Defence Minister, Mr Lee Yang Ho, has been dismissed following last month's North Korean submarine incursion. Mr Lee was removed from his post yesterday in a major reshuffle of the department of defence. He has been replaced by the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, Mr Kim Dong Jin.
Mr Lee's dismissal indicates the anger in South Korea over the submarine and its presumed espionage mission. Diplomats in Seoul last week said they had never heard such uncompromising language from the South Korean Foreign Minister, Mr Gong Ro Myung, after he gave a speech in which he welcomed the prospect of the collapse of the regime in North Korea.
The submarine incursion off Kangnung was "yet another plot to militarily provoke us and manifest proof that North Korea still holds the desire for a communist unification by force . . We welcome the collapse of North Korea provided it is by implosion," Mr Gong said.
Despite a huge manhunt for the three North Korean crew who escaped, there was no sign of the fugitives until three dead villagers were found in the woods of Kangwon province, about 80 km inland, on October 9th. The bullets that had been fired were identified as ammunition carried by North Korean troops.
After an escalation of the search, including the daily raking of beaches on the north east coast, the only result was that a South Korean army captain was shot dead by one of his own men. Criticism levelled at the South Korean armed forces over the search operation included complaints that inexperienced recruits had been used.
President Kim, in a briefing in Seoul attended by The Irish Times on Wednesday, told European journalists they were visiting his country "at a very delicate moment". He said North Korea had not given up its 45 year ambition to "communise the whole peninsula". The apparent execution of most of the submarine crew by its commander showed the cruelty of the North Korean regime, he said.
"Our army is well prepared to meet any provocation effectively and immediately, in close co operation with US forces in Korea," Mr Kim said. But doubts were obviously lurking and Mr Lee has felt the result.
. The Irish EU Presidency has condemned the North Korean submarine incursion into South Korean waters, saying that it constituted "a new and serious violation of the 1953 armistice agreement". In a statement issued yesterday it urged "the authorities in Pyongyang once again to cease all activities which could result in a further increase in the tension on the Korean peninsula and to abide by the terms of the armistice agreement".