President Lee Myung Bak apparently declared, “Punish them several times over,” immediately after receiving word of North Korea’s attack on Yeonpyeong Island this afternoon.
Blue House spokesperson Kim Hee Jung reported the President’s reaction, which he gave at the Blue House Center for National Crisis Management in a video meeting with the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Han Min Ku. President Lee apparently told Han, “Attack in cases where the other side shows any sign of a provocation; there is a missile base in the vicinity of the coastal cannon base.”
Thereafter, the President received real time reports of how many rounds the South had received.
According to the spokesperson, President Lee received a report on the situation on Yeonpyong Island from Han Min Ku and the military authorities during a following diplomacy and security ministers meeting, and deliberated again on future operations and how to respond.
The meeting was attended by Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Sung Hwang, Minister of Unification Hyun In Taek, Minster of National Defense Kim Tae Young, National Intelligence Service Director Won Sei Hoon, Minister of Public Administration and Security Maeng Hyung Kyu and Minister of the Prime Minister’s Office Rim Ch Min.
