S.Korean govt's response 'weak'

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak and his cabinet are under attack from the ruling party for their soft response to a deadly skirmish Tuesday between the two Koreas that left four people dead.

"Let me say a word about those bastards at the Blue House who advised the president to say the situation should be managed to avoid a full-blown war," Hong Sa-duk, a representative of Lee's Grand National Party (GNP), was quoted as saying in Thursday's JoongAng Daily.

"They must all be fired for advising the president to have such a weak response," he added.

Bowing to public pressure, Lee decided Thursday to accept his defense minister Kim Tae-young's resignation, the Seoul-based Yonhap News Agency reported.

The resignation came hours after the defense minister visited Yeonpyeong Island, home to military bases as well as a fishing community of 1,300 residents, according to the AP.

Two marines and two civilians on the island were killed in Tuesday's exchange, and at least 18 people - most of them troops - were wounded, the AP added.

Soon after Tuesday's exchange of artillery fire, Lee reportedly said he wanted to avoid "full-blown war" with the North.

His staff at the presidential Blue House later retracted the remark, which had sparked outrage among some members of the GNP.

This is the second time this year that Lee and his administration have had to confront a military crisis on the Korean Peninsula.

Lee won domestic support in March for his handling of the sinking of a South Korean warship that killed 46 sailors.

This time, however, it seems that Lee and his cabinet are facing far more criticism.

"If you had used our air force capability from the beginning and completely destroyed the North's guns, there would have been no sec-ond attack," AFP quoted GNP legislator Chung Mi-kyung as saying Wednesday.

According to Yonhap, the South Korean military said Thursday that it inflicted "severe damage" on North Korean troops when they responded with 80 shells in a pinpointed attack during the incident Tuesday.

However, Peng Guangqian, a military expert at the People's Liberation Army Academy of Military Science, dismissed Chung's remarks as irre-sponsible and senseless, saying the claims serve only to further complicate the situation.

"Lee's choice to refrain from enlarging the clashes is of great importance, since the exact reason for the conflict is not known yet," Peng added.

Peng's remarks were echoed by Lü Chao, director of the Korean Research Center at Liaoning Academy of Social Sciences, who told the Global Times that accusations and threats are not conducive to ending the crisis.

Agencies - Global Times