S. Korean defence minister resigns over slow response to N. Korean shelling of island

Seoul (S.Korea), - South Korea’s Defence Minister Kim Tae-Young has resigned amid angry criticism of the response to the North Korean attack on Yeonpyeong island.

In the North Korean artillery bombardment, two soldiers and two civilians were killed.

News of the resignation came after South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, ordered the country’s military to strengthen its troop presence on islands near its disputed maritime border with North Korea and Pyongyang warned of retaliation for any “reckless military provocations”, the Guardian reports.

A US aircraft carrier and other warships were on their way to the Yellow Sea for joint military drills with the South, due to begin on Sunday.

The shelling increased international concerns about the stability of the peninsula, already heightened by last week’s reports that North Korea was operating a new uranium enrichment facility.

Seoul had promised it would be ready to respond strongly to further attacks following the sinking of a warship this spring, which it blamed on North Korea. (ANI)