South Korea president names new security team

SEOUL, Nov 1 (Reuters) South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun today named a new security team in his cabinet just as North Korea announced it would return to talks to end its nuclear weapons programme.

Analysts generally expect the new ministers for foreign affairs, unification, defence and the new spy chief to continue Roh's policy of engaging the reclusive North Korean government.

Song Min-soon, Roh's chief national security adviser, was named foreign minister, the presidential office said.

He was a key architect of an international accord in September last year under which Pyongyang agreed in principle to end its nuclear weapons programme in return for economic aid and better ties with Washington and Tokyo.

That accord, however, was dashed when Pyongyang tested a nuclear device on October 9, prompting international outrage and UN sanctions.

North Korea announced today it would return to the multilateral talks on its nuclear weapons, which it had snubbed for the past year.

Song, who has spent almost all of his career in the Foreign Ministry, takes over from Ban Ki-moon who will replace Kofi Annan as secretary-general of the United Nations.

Roh named Lee Jae-joung, a former member of parliament, Anglican priest and head of a presidential advisory council on North Korean affairs, as unification minister to head Seoul's relations with Pyongyang.

Army Chief of Staff Kim Jang-soo was picked to head the defence ministry and Roh promoted Kim Man-bok, the current number two at the National Intelligence Service, to head the spy agency.

Roh's office will request parliament to hold hearings on the appointments but its approval is not needed.

The appointments come as Roh's government, which has a little more than a year left in office, is battling record low approval ratings and mounting criticism for giving away too much to North Korea for its engagement policy and getting too little in return.

The appointments of Song and Lee, trusted Roh allies, have drawn criticism from conservative South Korean lawmakers and media, who said they were not qualified to mend Seoul's frayed alliance with Washington as regional powers step up efforts to end the North's nuclear ambitions.

''Appointing Song foreign minister is a personnel decision the public cannot approve,'' senior Grand National Party MP Kim Hyong-o said earlier this week.

According to a survey today in the Hankook Ilbo newspaper, only 12.7 per cent of South Korean adults supported Roh's left-of-centre Uri Party, while the conservative opposition Grand National Party had a support rate of 46.8 per cent.

REUTERS SP HT1512