S. Korean defense head readjusts upcoming Asian trip: officials

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, May 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's defense minister is considering altering
his plan to go on a six-day Asian swing this week as North Korea went ahead with
its threat to conduct a nuclear test, officials said Monday.

Lee Sang-hee was to go to Beijing Tuesday for a three-day trip before flying to
Singapore Friday to attend a regional security forum there, according to the
Ministry of National Defense.
He was scheduled to hold talks with U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates during
the three-day "Shangri-La Dialogue," but Lee may have to alter his plan because
tension runs higher than ever on the Korean Peninsula, officials here said.
"It's back to square one as far as the itinerary goes," an official said,
declining to be named. Another official said Lee may shorten the length of each
of his trips to China and Singapore, respectively.
This year's meeting in Singapore, organized by the London-based International
Institute for Strategic Studies, is set to draw delegations from more than two
dozen Asian countries, including Japan, Australia and New Zealand. North Korea is
not a participant.
North Korea, which conducted its first known atomic test in October 2006, said
through its official media that it "successfully" detonated a nuclear device
Monday morning.
South Korean officials said they detected seismic tremors measuring 4.5 on the
Richter magnitude scale from Poongkye-ri in North Hamkyong Province.
North Korea recently banned ships from the waters near the province where it
launched a long-range rocket on April 5. The ban had raised speculation that
Pyongyang was moving to test-fire short-range missiles.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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