By Kang Seung-woo
The
Moon Jae-in administration has refrained from firmly condemning North Korea's military provocations, a lawmaker said, Tuesday.
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| President Moon Jae-in / Yonhap |
According to Rep. Kang Min-kuk of the main opposition People Power Party, the Kim Jong-un regime has carried out provocative actions, including missile and nuclear tests, on a total of 40 occasions since President Moon took office in May 2017.
However, the current administration has struck back with counter-remarks in only 12 instances, or 30 percent of the time, the lawmaker added.
Taking a closer look, Moon has denounced the North's military actions as provocations only seven times.
In addition, the President last issued a strong warning to North Korea for its tension-generating moves, May 9, 2019, in an interview marking the second anniversary of his inauguration, the lawmaker noted. Earlier in the day, the totalitarian state had launched short-range missiles.
"Anyway, however, I'd like to warn North Korea that if such behavior by North Korea is repeated, it could make the current dialogue and negotiation phase difficult," Moon said at the time.
Rep. Kang said, "In response to North Korea's military provocations, the counter-message from the President, who is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, should be firm and strong as well as reassuring to the people."
The Moon administration has been taking flak from some for its low-key stance on the North Korean regime's provocative actions, in the effort not to provoke North Korea or disrupt its peace efforts to engage the country into giving up its nuclear weapons program.
In addition, the South Korean military has conducted its annual combined military drills with the U.S. in a low-key manner, due to concerns over Pyongyang's strong resistance, but many have taken issue with it, saying that a lack of exercises could undermine Seoul's war deterrence.
Inter-Korean ties have been deadlocked since February 2019, when the Hanoi summit between the United States and North Korea ended without a deal.
