Instability in N. Korea may arise at any time: S. Korean defense head

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, Sept. 23 (Yonhap) -- Instability in North Korea could arise at any time,
South Korea's new defense minister said Wednesday, vowing to transform his
country's forces to deal with a broad range of threats.

"Military tension persists on the Korean Peninsula while instability can arise at
any time in North Korea," Kim Tae-young said in his speech as he was sworn in as
defense minister.
The comment by Kim, retiring as the highest general here, reflects lingering
suspicions that North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, despite recent forays into
diplomatic scenes, may relapse into an illness.
The North's top ruler met with former U.S. President Bill Clinton last month and
Chinese special envoy Dai Bingguo last week, tamping down speculation he has yet
to recover from a stroke he reportedly suffered last year.
Questions about his health raised regional tensions as the 67-year-old has yet to
publicly name a successor to take over his impoverished state, which conducted
two known atomic tests in 2006 and this year.
South Korea and the U.S. have since bolstered their efforts to create a joint
operational plan to deal with a regime collapse in Pyongyang, with Kim Tae-young
leading the South Korean side.
"I will engage in global military diplomacy pivoted on the South Korea-U.S.
alliance," Kim said in the swearing-in speech, given at the Ministry of National
Defense in Seoul.
"A broad range of national security threats and changes in war fighting
environments are forcing us to transform ourselves," he said.
Kim Tae-young, 60, replaces Lee Sang-hee, who was one of the longest serving
Cabinet members in President Lee Myung-bak's administration that took office in
February last year.
Amid speculation he would be subject to a government reshuffle -- which took
place early this month -- Lee Sang-hee sent a personal letter of protest to the
president last month over a compromise in defense spending, increasing pressure
for his replacement.
Kim had served as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff since President Lee took
office after winning the election on a platform of economic pledges and a
disciplinary stance on Pyongyang.
He came under the spotlight when he told a parliamentary hearing that he would
order an attack on North Korea should the communist state deploy tactical nuclear
weapons.
Kim later explained he was referring to a routine military measure, but the
incident labeled him a hardliner and prompted North Korea to accuse him of
harboring the idea of a pre-emptive offensive.
South and North Korea remain in a technical state of war after the 1950-53 Korean
War ended in a truce, which was never replaced by a peace treaty.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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