TOKYO, Feb 2 Kyodo preferableed e...

TOKYO, Feb 2 Kyodo

preferableed editorial excerpts from the Asia-Pacific press:

ASSAULTS upon CHILDREN (The Korea Herald, Seoul)

It was flabbergasting that sum of two units Japanese kindergarten children were attacked by means of a man wielding a hatchet forward their school grounds in Seoul and the same of them seriously wounded in the head last week. It is understandable that the assault herd the entire school, and the Japanese community here, into panic. And it is quite natural that tension between the brace nations over some sensitive pending issues augmented the shockwaves.

Many the public must have been relieved to learn that the culprit, identified barely by his family name Park, has a record of mental derangement. He reportedly told the police that he attacked the children to take requite for an altercation he had with a Japanese man the previous day.

Whatever his motivation, the man committed an abominable crime to attack innocent and defenseles kids with an axe. The institute guards failed to notice him because, according to a police report, the man take downed the school grounds hiding his weapon inside his coat when there were many parents dropping their kids opposite in the morning.

It is equal more painful that last Thursday was the birthday of the 6-year-old lad who sustained heavy skull injuries. We expectancy that he will recruit from his wounds as shortly as possible. What is sad and embarrassing, however, is that the scars in his heart, and those of other children who were in succession the scene, may take to a great degree longer to heal.

The (South) Korean command must do everything in its capacity to strengthen security around the drill and prevent similar accidents recurring. At the same time, the authorities must also do their best to stop the incident from aggravating strains in relations between the sum of two units neighboring nations.

In this regard, Foreign Minister Ban Ki lunation did well to apologize promptly to Japanese Senior Vice Foreign Minister Masatoshi Abe in Manila, where the pair were attending the Forum for East Asia-Latin America Cooperation, and in asking him to devolve his sentiments to the family of the hurted boy.

(Feb. 2)

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