A South Korean general decorated for an operation that took out armed North Korean guerillas assumed leadership of Seoul’s Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) on Tuesday, stressing “ruthless” retaliation to enemy provocations.

In an evening ceremony, Army Gen. Kim Seung-kyum succeeded Air Force Gen. Won In-choul as JCS chairman and emphasized the need to bolster ROK defenses against North Korean nuclear and missile threats.

“If an enemy provokes us, our military will ruthlessly retaliate and make sure that it pays a horrible price,” Kim said in a speech, according to JCS. “We will engrave