S. Korea's chief general decries N. Korea's nuclear test

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By Sam Kim
SEOUL, May 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's top general on Tuesday decried the second
nuclear test by North Korea, while ordering "a cool and precise assessment" of
the tension that has escalated on the divided peninsula.

"Despite warnings, concerns and objections, North Korea finally went ahead with
its nuclear test," Gen. Kim Tae-young, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
said in an emergency meeting with about 140 high-level commanders and defense
officials in Seoul.
North Korea conducted its second nuclear test on Monday. The underground
detonation came after the communist state performed its first atomic test in
October 2006.
Monday's blast in the northeast was followed by the firing of three short-range
missiles on the east coast. Kim said the string of provocations represent "a
grave threat to regional peace."
"North Korea has turned its back on the expectations of the international society
and the South Korean government," he said.
South and North Korea remain technically at war with each other as the 1950-53
Korean War ended in a truce rather than a peace treaty.
Their ties -- which had improved through the 2000 and 2007 summits --
deteriorated over the past year after South Korean President Lee Myung-bak took
office with a tougher stance on the nuclear weapons programs maintained by North
Korea.
"We need to assess the current situation coolly and precisely," the four-star
officer told the commanders from the Army, the Air Force and the Navy.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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