(LEAD) S. Korea to strike back if N. Korea provokes armed clash: defense minister

SEOUL, Feb. 20 (Yonhap) -- South Korea will sternly respond to any preemptive attack by North Korea along the disputed maritime border in the Yellow Sea, Seoul's defense chief said Friday.

"We will clearly respond to any preemptive artillery or missile attack by North
Korea," Defense Minister Lee Sang-hee said at a parliamentary hearing, vowing to
strike the military installations from where the attacks originate.
Lee made the remarks after a ruling party lawmaker asked how the South Korean
military would react if North Korea attacked one of its vessels along the western
sea border, which Pyongyang claims should be drawn further south.
"We will take preventive measures if a missile attack were launched by the enemy,
and the (North Korean) locations where a missile launch originates must be hit,"
said the minister.
North Korea recently stepped up its harsh rhetoric against South Korea and
warned of an armed clash near the U.N.-drawn Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the
Yellow Sea -- the site of bloody naval clashes in 1999 and 2002. The NLL was
unilaterally drawn by the U.S.-led U.N. Command at the end of the Korean War.
Pyongyang has also nullified all its peace agreements with Seoul while apparently
moving forward with steps to test-fire a long-range missile technically capable
of reaching the western United States.
Lee, however, said the authorities would not allow a military response to
escalate into an all-out war.
"We will counter (a Northern military offensive) with an equal amount of force in
the shortest period of time to prevent a full-blown war," Lee explained.
odissy@yna.co.kr
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