Seoul halts trade, shuts sea lanes to NK

President Lee Myung-bak delivers an address to the nation regarding the March 26 sinking of the Navy vessel Cheonan, at the War Memorial in Seoul, Monday. / Korea Times photo by Wang Tae-seog



Lee vows firm response to military provocation



By Na Jeong-ju

Staff reporter



President Lee Myung-bak warned North Korea, Monday, of potential armed retaliation against any provocative acts in the future, saying South Korea will immediately exercise its right of self-defense if its land, territorial waters and airspace are violated by the communist country again.



He also pledged to take the North's torpedo attack against the Navy vessel Cheonan on March 26 to the U.N. Security Council (UNSC) for an international response to the act of aggression.



As part of its own countermeasures, South Korea has banned North Korean ships from using any sea routes under its control and suspended all inter-Korean trade and exchange except for aid programs for infants and children, and the joint industrial complex in the North's city of Gaeseong.



"From now on, we won't tolerate any provocative acts by North Korea," Lee said in a nationally televised address to the nation at the War Memorial in Seoul, which commemorates the 1950-53 Korean War.



"If our territorial waters, airspace and land are violated again, we will immediately exercise our right of self-defense."



He vowed to refer the issue to the UNSC to have the North pay the price for its actions, while strengthening combat readiness based on the strong alliance with the United States.



"The attack on the Cheonan violated the Charter of the United Nations and the existing agreements the two Koreas had reached for the sake of peace and stability, including the Korean War Armistice Agreement and the Basic Agreement between South and North Korea," Lee said.



The conservative leader also urged North Korea to apologize for the ship sinking, which claimed the lives of 46 sailors, and to punish those who were behind the attack.



He stopped short of mentioning North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, but said, as a compatriot, he was ashamed of what North Korea was doing.



"What is the situation in North Korea? Nothing has changed over the last 60 years," Lee said. "It is a country still holding on to an empty ambition of forcefully reuniting the Korean Peninsula under the banner of communism. It is a country that still believes in making threats and committing terrorist activities.



"North Korea's goal is to instigate division and conflict," he charged.



The address came days after an international team of investigators concluded a North Korean torpedo destroyed the 1,200-ton Cheonan near the West Sea border. The ship was conducting a routine patrol mission, according to the South Korean military.



Regarding claims about the poor initial response to the disaster, Lee admitted that the military had failed somewhat and vowed its reform.



"We have to admit that our Armed Forces made mistakes," he said. "As follow-up measures, we will reestablish the discipline of the Armed Forces, rectify the military and reinforce our combat capabilities. Joint Korea-U.S. defense readiness will be further strengthened as well."