PPP blasts Lee's Liberation Day call for multilateral war-end talks as 'pathetic peace-begging'

The People Power Party on Sunday unleashed sharp criticism at President Lee Jae Myung's Liberation Day address, targeting in particular his proposal for multilateral talks to formally end the Korean War.

PPP chief spokesperson Choi Bo-yun said in a statement that "President Lee's Liberation Day address showed the peak of this administration's security incompetence," adding that "even as North Korea advances its nuclear capabilities, the president threw hollow proposals at Pyongyang — 'end-of-war discussions between the parties' and 'three principles of peaceful coexistence.'"

Choi also trained her fire on the Ministry of Unification's policy toward the North. "Going even further, the Unification Ministry has moved to replace the term 'North Korea is the main enemy,'" she said. "How long must we watch this pathetic begging — disarming ourselves while forgetting the ironclad principles of security?"

Choi also took aim at Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back over what she described as a pattern of contradictory statements. She noted that Ahn had first said South Korea and the United States had "agreed not to proceed" with the establishment of a UN Command "security armistice enforcement brigade," only to later say the two sides were "in close consultation." She said "the defense minister's irresponsible habit of reversing his positions and sowing confusion on major issues has long been a chronic problem."

She went on to say that "behind Minister Ahn's misjudgments and excuses lies President Lee's reckless impatience to claim the transfer of wartime operational control as a political achievement," and demanded that the administration "immediately halt its irresponsible North Korea policy and move to establish a firm security posture."