(LEAD) Conservative party lambastes Moon for sticking to N.K. dialogue

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SEOUL, Sept. 22 (Yonhap) -- The conservative main opposition party rebuked President Moon Jae-in on Friday for sticking to his policy of engagement with an increasingly provocative North Korea, saying he is "walking a different path" from the international community.

Chung Woo-taik, the Liberty Korea Party (LKP) whip, made the remarks after Moon made a keynote speech at the U.N. General Assembly reiterating his stance of using both dialogue and pressure to handle the wayward regime, while his U.S. and Japanese counterparts voiced hard-line positions.

"President Moon is walking a different path from the international community, which is placing more sanctions and pressure on the North, including the consideration of military options," Chung said during a meeting with senior officials.

Chung also cited a New York Times article that reported that "Moon has been the odd man out of the three," referring to U.S. President Donald Trump and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, because he argues for more engagement and opposes any military action.

At the U.N. Assembly, Trump threatened to "totally destroy" the North if Washington is forced to defend itself and its allies, calling North Korean leader Kim Jong-un a "rocket man on a suicide mission." Abe stressed the need for the world to focus on increasing the pressure on the pugnacious regime in a "robust manner."

"We were very frustrated that (Moon) continued to talk of dialogue and peace (with the North)," Chung said.

The minor conservative Bareun Party also criticized Moon's U.N. speech as "confusing."

It was hard to understand "whether he would apply sanctions and pressure, or resolve the standoff peacefully through dialogue," Kim Se-yeon, the party's policy chief, said during a meeting with senior party members.

"It would be difficult to break the North's resolve to arm itself with nuclear weapons when we only seek political negotiations that exclude any military element," he added.

The ruling Democratic Party, however, rated Moon's U.N. speech highly, saying it offered an opportunity for the Korean Peninsula to move further toward peace.

"Through his speech, President Moon drew an international consensus for sanctions, pressure and the denuclearization of North Korea, and he created an opportunity to move toward peace," Woo Won-shik, the party whip, said during a meeting with senior party officials.

He especially praised Moon's call for the U.N. to play a greater role in ensuring peace on the peninsula.

Choo Mi-ae, the ruling party leader, said that Moon's renewed call for a peaceful resolution to the nuclear standoff underscores the government's firm stance that there must not be another armed conflict on the peninsula.

"The international community, including the U.S., supports such a stance," Choo said.

sshluck@yna.co.kr
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