Lee reviews national security posture before trip to Washington

(ATTN: UPDATES with defense minister's comments)
SEOUL, June 14 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak convened a
meeting of security-related ministers on Sunday to review contingency plans in
case of a North Korean provocation during his upcoming trip to the United States,
Lee's aides said.

The meeting came a day after the North issued a verbal threat to take military
action against any U.S.-led attempt to form a "blockade" around it. The warning
was a response to a U.N. Security Council resolution punishing Pyongyang for its
latest nuclear test by calling for tighter cargo inspections and an arms embargo.
The defiant communist nation also announced a plan to produce more
plutonium-based nuclear bombs and begin an uranium enrichment program.
South Korean officials took the threats seriously, noting the North has put its
threats into actions including the second nuclear test.
"President Lee instructed the ministers to take thorough measures so that the
people can be free from care about national security during (his) trip to the
United States," said Kim Eun-hye, a spokesperson at the presidential office
Cheong Wa Dae.
Lee is scheduled to head for Washington on Monday for a summit with U.S.
President Barack Obama. Their meeting is expected to focus on ways to deal with
North Korea.
Another Cheong Wa Dae official said the security meeting was aimed at "preparing
for a possible provocation from North Korea, although the possibility of such an
action appears slim, while President Lee is visiting the U.S."
Lee will return to Seoul on Friday. It is not unusual for the president to hold
such meetings before taking overseas trips, the official added.
In attendance were Prime Minister Han Seung-soo, Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan,
Unification Minister Hyun In-taek, Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee, National
Intelligence Service chief Won Sei-hoon, and Kim Sung-hwan, senior secretary to
the president for foreign affairs and security.
The defense minister was quoted as saying in the meeting that, "We can't rule out
the possibility that North Korea could provoke an armed conflict. We will counter
it decisively through cooperation with the U.S."
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)