12 August 2017

News Report: S Korean Opposition Criticizes Gov't for Not Taking Actions in N Korea Crisis

South Korea's main opposition party criticized the government's inaction with regard to North Korean threats, local media reported.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — South Korea's main opposition party on Friday criticized the government's inaction with regard to North Korean threats and called for measures to be taken to de-escalate the situation on the Korean Peninsula, local media reported.

"US President Donald Trump is making statements hinting at a possible war, and the North is talking about firing missiles to Guam. And what [the presidential office] is saying, that the North is being a little sensitive, shows the government’s attitude… It is just stifling to see the government remaining as a mere spectator over the issue, and that is why we say it is ‘Korea Passing,’" Min Kyung-wook, vice floor leader of Liberty Korea Party, was quoted as saying by the Korea Herald newspaper.

The opposition forces have introduced the term "Korea Passing" to describe the situation in which South Korea is pushed out by other countries in tackling the North Korean nuclear issue, according to the newspaper.

Commenting on the criticism, Woo Won-shik, the floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party, said the opposition was just trying to diminish the government's efforts in the North Korean crisis.

The situation on the Korean Peninsula has become aggravated in recent months due to a series of missile launches and nuclear tests conducted by Pyongyang. Most recently, Pyongyang conducted two separate tests of intercontinental ballistic missiles on July 4 and July 28.

On Tuesday, Trump told reporters that North Korea would face an unprecedented level of "fire and fury" if it continues to threaten the United States. North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, in response, said that North Korea was considering an attack on Guam, a Pacific island which hosts multiple US military bases.

Earlier on Friday, South Korea and the United States agreed to discuss any potential action against Pyongyang in advance amid North Korea's threats to launch ballistic missiles at Guam.

This story first appeared on Sputnik & is reposted here with permission.