South Korea convenes extraordinary meeting after North Korea shelling

On the morning of May 23, South Korean President Park Geun-hye convened an extraordinary ministerial-level security meeting after North Korea fired artillery near a South Korean naval ship across the disputed western maritime border, THX reported.

Responding to a press conference, Presidential Spokesperson Min Kyung-wook said that Ms. Park Geun-hye chaired a nearly 1-hour security ministerial meeting to discuss how to respond to a series of recent provocations by North Korea.

A South Korean destroyer patrols near the maritime border with North Korea in the Yellow Sea. (Source: Yonhap/VNA)

The meeting was attended by the foreign minister, unification minister and defense minister, along with the presidential chief of staff, secretary for foreign affairs and security, first deputy director of the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and deputy national security adviser to the president.

At the meeting, Ms. Park Geun-hye expressed "deep regret" over North Korea's provocative actions.

Earlier on May 22, President Park Geun-hye dismissed her national security adviser Kim Jang-soo and NIS Director Nam Jae-joon in an effort to restore public trust in the government, which has faced heavy criticism for its handling of the Sewol ferry disaster last month that killed hundreds of people./.

According to VNA