Defense minister indignant at junior officer`s interview remarks

"Isn`t it problematic that a frontline platoon leader has been seen to the public as if he is afraid of a war?"

South Korea`s Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin reprimanded his staff during a breakfast meeting Monday after finishing events Saturday to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the armistice of the Korean War. He was referring to a television documentary marking the anniversary. It was very unusual for him to express his emotion during a meeting with his staff, although he counters North Korea`s threats of provocations with strong rhetoric.

What made him angry was an interview with a South Korean Army platoon leader manning a frontline outpost in a four-part documentary on the demilitarized zone that was aired Sunday. The officer, who had just been assigned to the outpost after finishing platoon leaders` training courses, said in the interview that he was "clumsier" than rank-and-file soldiers. "I get nervous when I think that I can encounter enemies any time. I am also a little afraid," he confessed. He went on to say, "I am very proud (of servicing at a frontline outpost) because I am risking my life. I am proud but also frustrated because other people don`t appreciate."

It has been known, however, that some retired generals who watched the program telephoned the defense minister, complaining about the junior officer`s words such as "clumsy", "nervous," and "afraid." They said it is "very inappropriate" for a frontline officer facing North Korean soldiers to give the impression that he was afraid of combats. The seniors also complained that the Defense Ministry should have prevented such an interview from airing to the public. Some of the retired generals even criticized the defense minister, who vowed to build a "combat-oriented and strong military."

After a young officer`s too honest interview created such ripples, the Defense Ministry called a meeting of high-level officers, including the ministry`s spokesman and officers in charge of public affairs or psychological training. According to sources, they were strongly reprimanded for having failed to let the remarks that were not in line with the military`s perfect readiness postures.