S. Korean leader confirms deals with Kim, draws ire
SEOUL, South Korea — South Korea’s liberal president on Tuesday formally confirmed his recent reconciliation deals with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, triggering immediate backlash from conservatives who called him “self-righteous” and “subservient” to the North.
Some experts say President
Moon Jae-in’s move is largely symbolic, but others say it shows his determination to carry out the Sep- tember deals despite growing skepti- cism about whether his engagement policy will eventually lead to North Korea’s nuclear disarmament.
In South Korea, a president is allowed by law to ratify some agreements with North Korea without consents from lawmakers.
Moon said in televised remarks that the ratification would help further improve ties with North Korea and accelerate global efforts to achieve the “complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”
The main conservative opposition Liberty Korea Party criticized Moon’s action, saying the deals would only undermine national security and waste taxpayers’ money.
“We deplore the fact that the Moon Jae-in government is weighted toward its subservient North Korea policy and is consistently being self-righteous and lacking communication” with parliament, said party spokesman Yoon Youngseok.
Moon has met with Kim three times this year, and he shuttled between Pyongyang and Washington to help arrange a series of high-level talks between the countries, including a June summit between Kim and President Donald Trump in Singapore.