Seoul has vowed to use its jet fighters to strike North Korea if it attacks again, making its strongest threat to hit targets in the country for several years, The Financial Times reports.

South Korea’s government has faced severe criticism for its weak retaliation after the Pyongyang’s bombardment of a South Korean island last week in which four people were killed. Kim Tae-young, the outgoing defence minister, said the government had not hit back with F-15s and F-16s through fear of triggering a full war.

But his successor, Kim Kwan-jin, warned on Friday that: “In case of further provocations, we will definitely strike North Korea by air”.

Mr Kim was speaking to parliamentarians at his confirmation hearing. Lee Myung-bak, the president, has previously vowed that any further attacks will spark a forceful response from Seoul. However, parliamentarians have condemned Mr Lee’s threats as empty rhetoric because he made the same pledge after a warship was torpedoed in March with the loss of 46 sailors.

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