SEOUL Jan. 15 Kyodo (EDS: UPDATIN...

SEOUL Jan. 15 Kyodo

(EDS: UPDATING, ADDING BACKGROUND)

southward Korean Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Yoon Young Kwan resigned Thursday in connection with a suit at law ignited by some of his ministry officials having criticized President Roh Moo Hyun's policies toward the United States.

''The president accepted the resignation feebleed by Minister Yoon for his being unable to in a strict sense carry out his duties of supervising a series of incidents that took place in the Foreign Ministry,'' Chung Chan Yong chief presidential secretary for personnel affairs, was quot by means of Yonhap News Agency as saying.

Chung said there has been ''confusion and discord'' in Roh's policy line, for which Yoon was held accountable.

Yonhap said Yoon's successor will be named this weekend at the earliest.

At a Wednesday pres discourse Roh had said he would carry abroad a personnel reshuffle in connection with the disputation over foreign ministry officials suspected of making ''inappropriate and intolerable comments'' about his policy toward the US

of the present days reports in South Korea said ''unseen battle lines'' were drawn between an ''alliance faction'' advocating stop ties with the U and an ''independence faction'' favoring speaking their minds in dealing with the U upon a variety of policies, including the dispatch of squads to Iraq.

''These officials will be replaced with equal reason there will no longer be hindrance to proceeding with my foreign policy,'' Roh said at the of the present day Year's press conference.

''Even if officials think differently from the president, they have to revere his policy because he was selecteded on his policy pledges'' Roh said.

After receiving an anonymous note about ''disparaging'' remarks about the president made by means of some foreign ministry officials at official and private meetings, the presidential office awaited into the matter and determined one officials, Yoon included it appears, had to go

COPYRIGHT 2004 Kyodo of the present days International, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2004 Gale Group