South Korea's Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on Thursday called for the protection of high-profile North Korean defectors after the murder of the half brother of the communist state's leader Kim Jong-un earlier this week.

Hwang made the call during a regular meeting of ministers over a series of pending issues, such as Pyongyang's potential provocations, the spread of foot-and-mouth disease and the country's rising jobless rate.

During the meeting, the officials vowed to redouble efforts to ensure the safety of prominent North Korean defectors and South Korean nationals who could potentially be the target of Pyongyang's attacks.

Kim Jong-nam, the half brother of the North's strongman, died Monday at an airport in Malaysia in an apparent assassination by North Korean operatives. The exact cause of his death is under investigation by Malaysian police.

Observers said Kim's murder may be part of the North Korean leader's scheme to preclude any potential challenge to his leadership and consolidate his power.

Later in the day, senior officials from the state anti-terrorism center and the National Police Agency decided to step up efforts to protect North Korean defectors, particularly those engaging in anti-Pyongyang activities.

During their meeting, the two sides decided to run a real-time communication channel to smoothly exchange intelligence and step up efforts to prevent potential terrorists from entering the country.

Also high on the agenda at the ministers' meeting was the North's launch on Sunday of a new intermediate-range ballistic missile, the first provocation this year and since the new US administration took office last month.

Related to the launch, ministers agreed to push for stronger international cooperation to further pressure Pyongyang into renouncing its nuclear and missile programs, and maintain a "watertight" security readiness to counter additional provocations, Hwang's office said in a press release.

Noting the rising jobless rate, ministers decided to pay more attention to creating jobs and stabilizing the livelihoods of ordinary citizens.

Government data showed Wednesday that the country's unemployment rate stood at 3.8 percent last month, edging up 0.1 percentage point from the same month last year. From a month earlier, the rate rose 0.6 percentage point from 3.2 percent.

"The employment situation is difficult, but if we try (to tackle it), there should be ways (to address it)," Hwang said.

Hwang urged top policymakers to do their utmost to revitalize the economy by creating new jobs, helping local firms expand their presence in foreign markets, removing unnecessary regulations and harnessing the country's technological edge to sharpen industrial competitiveness.

Regarding the spread of the animal disease, the government decided to mobilize "all available resources" to contain and prevent it from spreading to pigs. (Yonhap)