Regarding tensions raised by the Cheonan sinking and Yeonpyeong Island attack by North Korea, President Lee Myung Bak asserted today that, \u201cWe can never prevent war when we are scared of war.\u201d <\/p>\n
Through his speech aired on KBS1 radio and available on YouTube, President Lee said, \u201cWe now have clearly figured out the fact that only a strong response to military provocations can prevent a war from breaking out and preserve the peace.\u201d <\/p>\n
President Lee said, \u201cWe have endured them again and again up till now,\u201d and pointed out, \u201cSince we didn\u2019t want to see another national tragedy, we wanted to keep peace on the Korean Peninsula. We believed that we could preserve peace on this soil by bearing it just a little bit longer. However, North Korea misjudged our endurance and hope for peace, and carried out provocations without hesitation.\u201d <\/p>\n
He claimed, \u201cAs long as we have firm resolve to risk any danger, we can actually prevent danger. While our military should guard our territory, it should respond ruthlessly when attacked.\u201d <\/p>\n
Regarding conflicts in public opinion over the results of the Cheonan incident, President Lee said, \u201cIt was sad that public opinion was divided. Even though dozens of our youths have been victimized, some refused to believe the result of an objective and scientific investigation along the lines of their ideas and political interests.\u201d <\/p>\n
He added, \u201cSeeing this situation, North Korea considered that, \u2018Ah, when we attack the South, their reaction is divided, so we should do it again.\u2019 In order to splinter public opinion, they aim at us. Therefore, we need national unity before a strong military reaction.\u201d <\/p>\n
He emphasized that, \u201cThrough this Yeonpyeong Island attack, our people learned a really valuable lesson. We learned that as long as we are dragged around by North Korea, we can preserve neither security nor peace. It has made us one in our strong resolve.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Regarding tensions raised by the Cheonan sinking and Yeonpyeong Island attack by North Korea, President Lee Myung Bak asserted today that, \u201cWe can never prevent war when we are scared of war.\u201d Through his speech aired on KBS1 radio and available on YouTube, President Lee said, \u201cWe now have clearly figured out the fact that […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":154,"featured_media":14156,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14154","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n