Moon criticizes opposition’s doubts on N. Korean nuclear power plants

South Korean President Moon Jae-in said on Monday, "In a time when our citizens are struggling to sustain their life, I hope you not to use an outdated politics to incite confrontation and prevent national politics from advancing further.” He publicly criticized the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) for raising suspicions that the president allegedly proposed to build nuclear facilities in North Korea around the time when he met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in the summit talk held at Panmunjom on April 27, 2018.

“Priority should be given to address issues that can have impact on the livelihoods of our citizens. What we need is to compete for a better policy and ensure politics of cooperation,” said President Moon on Monday in a weekly meeting with his senior aides. Although he did not mention the opposition party directly, his message intended to call on the PPP to stop raising suspicions. "It is a political attack as well as an ideology-based politics,” said a senior Cheong Wa Dae official in a meeting with reporters. He pointed an accusatory finger at the opposition party for increasing groundless suspicion while turning a blind eye to South Korean citizens who are having a hard time.

Some of Cheong Wa Dae and the ruling party even argue that the government should disclose what was on the portable storage device (USB) that President Moon gave to the North Korean leader. Rep. Yoon Young-chan of the ruling Minjoo Party, who served as a senior public communications aide to the president, said in a radio interview with CBS, "If necessary, the content on the device should be disclosed publicly,” confirm‎ing that not any file of the USB was relevant to nuclear power plants. This argument seemingly intends to keep the opposition party from putting political pressure on the government as the device did not include any content regarding nuclear stations. However, some worry that the opposition will use it as another opportunity to intensify its attack. 　

PPP floor leader Joo Ho-young met with his counterparts in a regular meeting presided over by National Assembly Speaker Park Byung-seok and expressed his suspicions that the government might have planned to build nuclear power plants in North Korea without any public consent and agreement. He maintained that the National Assembly should launch an inspection on governmental affairs.


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