The main opposition Democratic United Party says nuclear armament of South Korea would only generate more problems, further aggravating tension with the North and triggering an arms race in Northeast Asia.

“Strong words such as nuclear armament and redeployment of tactical nuclear weapons are coming from even those with responsibility within the ruling party. It feels as though the peace and security of the Korean Peninsula is approaching a crisis,” Rep. Park Hong-keun said at a meeting of the DUP’s emergency committee following North Korea’s third nuclear test conducted in February. 

“Military conflict cannot be avoided if only how to punish (North Korea) is considered. Ways to revolve (the situation) must be considered at the same time.”

Such views have been echoed by some of the most senior members of the DUP.

“If we say we will develop nuclear weapons, it will prompt Japan’s nuclear armament and turn northeast Asia into a nuclear warehouse,” former DUP floor leader Rep. Park Jie-won said in a recent radio interview. He added that the North Korean nuclear program was an issue between Pyongyang and Washington, and that negotiations needed to be accompanied by measures to penalize North Korea for its actions.

The DUP has also attacked the ruling party and talk of nuclear armament raised by some of its lawmakers.

“The Saenuri Party is trying to incite an irresponsible arms race claiming ‘militaristic balance’ and ‘nuclear deterrence,’” DUP spokesman Park Yong-jin said in response to discussion of nuclear armament at a Saenuri Party conference in February. He added that the Lee Myung-bak administration’s hard-line stance on North Korea led to the loss of communication as a tool for resolving the situation.

“(The Saenuri Party) must clearly recognize that nuclear armament cannot resolve the North Korean nuclear problem.”

The DUP has also attempted to turn the tables on the ruling party, blaming the hard-line stance of its leaders for pushing North Korea to extreme choices.

Saying that the idea that the Sunshine Policy contributed to North Korea’s nuclear tests was a “very wrong concept,” DUP deputy floor leader Rep. Woo Won-shik charged that hard-line policies that isolated Pyongyang “pushed North Korea toward the last resort.”

The Sunshine Policy refers to late President Kim Dae-jung’s North Korean policy that aimed to engage Pyongyang and to soften inter-Korean relations.

A similar soft approach to North Korea was also used by the late President Roh Moo-hyun. The two consecutive administrations’ approach to North Korea and the aid provided during the 10 years are viewed by some conservatives as having contributed to North Korea’s nuclear program.

By Choi He-suk  (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)