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Odds of N. Korea’s provocation growing: Defense chief

June 30, 2015
More than 150 top military commanders hold a biannual conference, chaired by Defense Minister Han Min-koo, in Seoul on June 30. (Yonhap)

More than 150 top military commanders hold a biannual conference, chaired by Defense Minister Han Min-koo, in Seoul on June 30. (Yonhap)

SEOUL, June 30 (Yonhap) — Defense Minister Han Min-koo warned North Korea on Tuesday not to test South Korea’s combat readiness, saying it would face “resolute retaliation” in case of any attack.

Han stressed that the likelihood of a provocation by the unpredictable nation is growing, as he presided over a biannual meeting with more than 150 top commanders of the nation’s 650,000-strong troops.

The minister ordered the military to make the North “bitterly” pay the price for any “reckless provocation,” like the 2002 naval attack near the Yellow Sea border.

Targets would include not only the origin of the provocation but also the supporting and commanding forces, he said.

“We have to get North Korea to realize that it can’t attain any purpose with provocation and threat,” Han said.

He earlier told reporters that the North is expected to take a “strategic, provocative” step around October, when it celebrates the founding anniversary of the ruling communist party. He cited the possibility of a long-range rocket launch.

In the second half of this year, meanwhile, South Korea and the United States will draw up a “new strategic document” to lay the groundwork for a “conditions-based” transfer of wartime operational control, according to the Ministry of National Defense.

In September, the allies will hold another round of joint anti-bioterrorism exercises, codenamed “Able Response,” in Seoul, the ministry said, reporting the results of the 90-minute conference.