S. Korea's ruling party chief urges peaceful solution to N.K. nuclear crisis

WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 (Yonhap) -- The leader of South Korea's ruling Democratic Party said Wednesday that a peaceful solution is the only solution to the North Korean nuclear crisis.

Speaking at a forum in Washington, Choo Mi-ae said South Korea and the United States see eye to eye on the need to put sanctions and pressure on Pyongyang.

"Our principle for resolving the North Korean nuclear issue must be (to seek) a peaceful solution," she said during a talk at the U.S.-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins SAIS. "A peaceful solution to the North Korean nuclear issue is the only solution agreed on by responsible leaders of the region, including the U.S., China, and which is supported by the international community."

Tensions have spiked in recent months as the U.S. and North Korea have threatened to go to war with each other over Pyongyang's weapons programs. In July the communist regime tested its first two long-range missiles capable of reaching the continental U.S., after which it detonated its largest nuclear device in September.

Choo said the potential for conflict caused by a miscalculation is large due to a complete breakdown in communication between South and North.

"As tensions rise on the Korean Peninsula, calls for dialogue and peace must also grow louder," she said, "and (both sides) must refrain from even the slightest word or action that could provoke the other."

Choo lamented what she cast as the failures of the previous conservative administrations to build on the inter-Korean trust initiated by the liberal governments of Kim Dae-jung and Roh Moo-hyun. The current liberal government of President Moon Jae-in is determined to replant a "seedling in the forest of peace," she said.

The Moon administration also recognizes the importance of a strong South Korea-U.S. alliance to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, according to Choo, and last week's summit between Moon and U.S. President Donald Trump reaffirmed that there will be no sanctions for the sake of sanctions nor talks for the sake of talks.

"Sanctions are a concerted effort by the international community to make North Korea come to the negotiation table," she said.

hague@yna.co.kr
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