Presidential aide named South Korea's new defense minister
05:37 26/11/2010
MOSCOW, November 26 (RIA Novosti) - The South Korean President has appointed his security aide Lee Hee Won as defense minister, Yonhap reported on Friday.
The previous minister, Kim Tae-young, resigned amid criticism over his fumbling the response to a deadly North Korean artillery attack on Tuesday.
North Korea opened artillery fire on the South's Yeonpyeong Island in the Yellow Sea, killing at least two South Korean marines and two civilians. Sixteen others were injured, along with three civilians. The South retaliated and warned of further strikes. The North later accused South Korea of attacking first.
The minister publicly expressed his intention to step down in May, after Seoul accused Pyongyang of torpedoing the 1,200-ton South Korean Cheonan corvette. The accusation escalated tensions in the region.
The president had delayed his decision on the minister's resignation due to "a host of pending issues," including annual U.S.-Korean defense ministerial meeting.
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