Seoul, South Korea (CNN) -- Kim Kwan-jin was formally named South Korea's defense minister Saturday, the country's state media agency reported.
Kim was appointed defense minister last week amid growing tensions on the Korean peninsula following an exchange of gunfire between the two sides.
Kim came out Friday with the strongest rhetoric since the conflict broke out, stating his country would respond with airstrikes if North Korea attacks again.
"We will definitely air raid North Korea," Kim Kwan-jin said at his confirmation hearing when asked how the South would respond if struck again, according to the official Yonhap News Agency. CNN
