Former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak ordered an airstrike during the North’s 2010 bombardment of Yeonpyeong Island, according to the recently published memoirs of his then press secretary.

Lee Dong-kwan’s memoirs claim the orders were not carried out by military officers further down the chain of command out of fear of further escalation.

Numerous military experts harshly refuted the claim, calling it “passing along responsibility.”

“The claim is improper, as the first principle in rules of engagement is to prevent escalation. The South Korean military had already struck North Korean forces with the K-9, self-propelled artillery, and adding more pressure with