SEOUL: South Korea's President, Lee Myung-bak, has taken responsibility for failing to protect the country and said the South would abandon its longstanding policy of not responding militarily to the North's hostile acts.

''It's become clear that more patience and tolerance only leads to bigger provocations,'' Mr Lee said. ''In the past, North Korea has provoked us on many occasions but this is the first time they have made a direct attack on South Korean soil. Launching a military attack on civilians is a crime against humanity, even during wartime.''

Mr Lee ... price to pay. Credit:AFP

Mr Lee was making his first public remarks since the crisis began last week with the attack on Yeonpyeong island, which killed four people.

Speaking at the Blue House, the presidential palace in Seoul, Mr Lee outlined a series of past provocations from the North stretching back two decades, including the attempted assassination of the South Korean president in Rangoon in 1983, the bombing of an airliner in 1987, and the sinking of a warship, the Cheonan, in March.