United Future Party "Let's Hold a Bipartisan Foreign Affairs and Security Joint Meeting to Discuss Inter-Korean and Diplomatic Issues"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] The United Future Party, currently boycotting standing committees in protest of forced committee assignments, has proposed holding a bipartisan joint foreign and security meeting to discuss North Korea's nuclear issue and diplomatic security matters.

Park Jin, chairman of the United Future Party's Foreign and Security Special Committee, held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office on the 19th and said, "Let us hold a bipartisan joint foreign and security meeting to candidly discuss matters directly related to national interests, including the current inter-Korean relations and diplomatic relations, and to establish a direction for countermeasures."

He added, "From the United Future Party's perspective, we want to communicate to our government a diplomatic strategy toward North Korea that prevents escalation of the crisis on the Korean Peninsula and reassures the public. Since the National Assembly's standing committees are in deadlock, there is a need for bipartisan discussion. Although the National Assembly is at an impasse, important security issues are being raised, so we are proposing bipartisan discussions to the ruling party."

Assemblyman Cho Tae-yong also said, "The Speaker of the National Assembly has blocked the way to participate in the standing committees. However, foreign and security issues are bipartisan matters, so this proposal comes from a sincere intention." Assemblyman Shin Won-sik explained, "The existing standing committees will be held separately from the Defense Committee and the Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee. Is it possible to discuss defense separately, diplomacy separately, and North Korea policy separately?"

As the threat of North Korea's nuclear weapons intensifies, the United Future Party's Foreign and Security Special Committee plans to hold daily meetings and announce related content. On the 21st, a plenary meeting will be held to hear opinions from 11 experts and decide the party's official stance.

Chairman Park pointed out, "North Korea tried to remove a lump but ended up adding one this time. By unilaterally blowing up the Joint Liaison Office, a sacred place for inter-Korean cooperation and dialogue, North Korea intends to pressure South Korea and attract U.S. attention to ease sanctions and create a breakthrough, but this is a misjudgment of the situation."

Assemblyman Shin also urged the resumption of joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises and deployment of U.S. strategic assets in a statement that day. He said, "In his 2018 New Year's address, Kim Jong-un said he would come to dialogue if joint exercises and strategic asset deployments were stopped, so the government halted them before confirming North Korea's cards. Currently, we have no cards except for sanctions relief, so North Korea is unreasonably demanding sanctions relief even before denuclearization."

Regarding opinions within the party about considering nuclear armament, Park expressed a reserved stance. He said, "The Republic of Korea is a country pursuing denuclearization, and the United Future Party's position is to maintain that fundamental framework." Assemblyman Cho said, "We must prepare security measures against North Korea, which is not just making rhetorical threats but military threats. Similar to NATO's nuclear sharing, there is a need to realistically discuss a 'Korean-style nuclear sharing' plan." This refers to using U.S. nuclear weapons to deter North Korea's nuclear threat, similar to NATO member countries training by loading U.S. nuclear weapons on their own bombers for deployment.

In response to some criticisms that deploying strategic assets does not help ease tensions, Assemblyman Shin said, "Because North Korea is making provocative threats, we are making reasonable responses to protect our sovereignty. The very act of portraying our normal responses as causes of tension could itself motivate North Korea's behavior."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.