South Korea's defence minister offered to resign on Tuesday to take responsibility for the military's cover-up of details in a recent naval incident with North Korea, a ministry spokesman said. Cho Young-gil had expressed his intention to step down in comments to reporters after Tuesday's cabinet meeting. President Roh Moo-hyun has yet to make a decision, a Blue House official said.
"There is no role left for me to play any longer," a ministry spokesman quoted Cho as telling a small group of reporters. Local media reported that Roh was likely to accept Cho's resignation and to name his successor as early as Wednesday.
Cho came under fire after he told parliament on Saturday that naval officers had concealed radio communications with North Korea in an incident on July 14 in which a South Korean navy ship fired two warning shots at a North Korean patrol boat in disputed waters west of the peninsula.
South Korea's joint chiefs of staff initially said the North Korean vessel ignored repeated radio calls warning that it was violating the border. But the joint chiefs later acknowledged the North had responded to the signals with an unrelated message that was not immediately reported up the South's chain of command.
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