by WorldTribune Staff, August 30, 2017
South Korea’s ruling party, which saw President Moon Jae-In rise to power on a pledge of dialogue with North Korea, said the North’s latest missile launch was “unpardonable” – an assessment with which the conservative opposition is in full agreement.
How should the wealthy but relatively powerless South respond to its bellicose brother nation with its growing arsenal of Weapons of Mass Destruction?
The answer is dialogue, says the dominant Democratic Party.
You’ve got to be kidding, say conservatives who lost power after the impeachment of former President Park Geun-Hye.
“North Korea fired a ballistic missile again early yesterday morning,” Democratic Party chief Rep. Choo Mi-Ae said during a party meeting on Aug. 30.
North Korea conducted a ballistic missile test on Aug. 29 in which the missile passed over Japan before falling into the sea. The test launch caused Japan to activate its public warning “J-Alert” system.
“Whether it’s a ballistic missile or a multiple rocket launcher, such an act that threatens neighboring nations is unpardonable,” Choo said.
Choo went on to say that the more tensions with the North deepen, the more it is necessary to make a great turnaround in inter-Korean relations through dialogue, Yonhap reported.
“The problem with the Moon Jae-In government’s North Korea policy is that everything boils down to dialogue,” said Rep. Lee Hye-Hoon, head of the conservative opposition Bareun Party. “It should immediately scrap such a policy.”
Rep. Lee said the government should come up with a sound plan on how to militarily handle the situation.
“We have to work closely together with the U.S. and Japan in preparing military options,” Lee said.
Ahn Cheol-Soo, newly elected head of the opposition People’s Party, also criticized the government for not doing enough to pressure the Kim Jong-Un regime.
“Unconditional pursuit of dialogue does not necessarily lead to dialogue,” Ahn said. “Talking about dialogue when North Korea fires missiles could send the wrong signal.”
Choo urged the opposition parties not to make national security a target of partisan bickering.
“National security is a matter that should be addressed in a bipartisan manner from the perspective of national interests,” she said. “We should realize that partisan bickering over national security would have bad effects on the safety of the country.”
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