President Lee receives security briefing on N. Korean threat

SEOUL, March 9 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak received a rare briefing from
his security-related ministers Monday as North Korea continues to escalate
tensions with threats of war and other hostile measures aimed at South Korea.
The briefing was held a day after Lee returned from a week-long trip to New
Zealand, Australia and Indonesia.
North Korea intensified tensions on the Korean Peninsula earlier Monday by
unilaterally cutting off a military hotline with the South, the only
communication window that remained open between the two sides.
Last last, Pyongyang said it could no longer guarantee the safety of South Korean
planes flying over its airspace despite a 1997 accord that allowed dozens of
South Korean commercial and passenger jets to do so daily.
Pyongyang is also suspected of preparing to test-launch a long-range missile,
despite repeated claims by the North that the preparations are for a satellite it
hopes to put into orbit. The communist nation said on Monday that any attempts to
intercept the rocket will lead to war.
The content of Monday's special briefing was not immediately released.
An official at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae, however, tried to downplay
the significance of the briefing, saying it is customary procedure following the
president's overseas trips.
"The president is briefed on new and current security issues every time he comes
back from a trip," the official said, asking not to be identified.
Lee also sat in on an earlier meeting of a special economic management council
that has met regularly on Thursdays since its establishment at the beginning of
the year, the official noted.
Still, the official acknowledged the post-trip security briefing was "different"
as it involved all of his security-related officials, including the defense and
unification ministers, as well as the head of the National Intelligence Service.
The president is later expected to meet with the special U.S. envoy for North
Korea, Stephen Bosworth, who is set to hold talks with the senior presidential
secretary for security and international affairs, Kim Sung-hwan.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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