South Korean president concerned over DPRK provocation

South Korean President Park Geun-hye was on Monday concerned about growing possibility of reckless provocation from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) following the purging and execution of Jang Song-Thaek, once- powerful uncle of top leader Kim Jong Un. "Given a recent series of occurrences in North Korea (DPRK), it became opaque how the North Korean situation will develop. Unexpected accidents such as reckless provocation cannot be ruled out," Park said during a meeting with senior presidential secretaries. Park added that the government should have a thorough grasp of whether the DPRK may seek to cause disorder in South Korea, urging the secretaries to make efforts to prevent people from feeling uneasy. Jang Song-Thaek, vice chairman of the DPRK's top military body, was executed on Dec. 12 after a special military tribunal convicted him of committing "unforgivable crime as traitor." He was stripped of all posts and titles and arrested at enlarged session of the Political Bureau of the Workers' Party of Korea ( WPK) Central Committee on Dec. 8. Park instructed the secretaries to closely monitor the DPRK's situation and prepare for all possibilities, saying that defense readiness should be strengthened especially in the so-called " five islands on the west coast"near the disputed maritime border with the DPRK. Meanwhile, Park presided over a ministerial meeting of foreign and security affairs to discuss how to respond to the series of occurrences in the DPRK, including Jang's execution, press presidential secretary Lee Jung-hyun told reporters at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae. The emergency meeting was attended by ministers of foreign affairs, unification and defense as well as intelligence agency head, chief presidential secretary and senior foreign affairs and security secretary. Park said during the meeting that security situation on the Korean Peninsula became very grave, stressing that the country should make a full readiness against any possibilities. She instructed the ministers and secretaries to keep close cooperation with the United States and strengthen the US-South Korea allied defense readiness, saying that coordinated efforts such as intelligence sharing should be made with relevant countries and the international community.