President Moon Jae-in on Thursday dismissed mounting calls for South Korea to seek its own nuclear armament or the redeployment of US tactical nukes, saying the tit-for-tat option against North Korea would destabilize Northeast Asia and spark a regional arms race.

During an interview with the US cable news network, CNN, Moon also squelched concerns about a possible fissure between Seoul and Washington over how to handle an increasingly provocative Pyongyang, stressing their "strong" cooperation anchored on the longstanding treaty alliance.

"I share the view that the South has to increase its defense capabilities in response to the North's advancing nuclear and missile capabilities, but I don't agree to the idea of South Korea developing nuclear arms on its own or seeking the redeployment of tactical nukes," he said.
 

"It would be difficult to maintain peace between South and North Korea if we respond with the stance that we have to counter the North's nukes with our own. Moreover, it would undermine peace and stability in the entirety of Northeast Asia by triggering a nuclear competition," he added.

The interview was conducted ahead of his visit to New York next week to attend the UN General Assembly.

After the North conducted two intercontinental ballistic missile launches in July and its sixth and most powerful nuclear test on Sept. 3, conservative parties ratcheted up calls for Seoul to explore nuclear options, including the reintroduction of US

tactical nukes withdrawn from here in 1991.

Their demand is rooted in the belief that the South must seek a "nuclear balance of power" -- or "balance of terror" -- with the pugnacious neighbor, which they argue now enjoys a "nuclear monopoly." 

Despite Pyongyang's relentless provocations, Moon said he would stick to his policy approach that critics here have written off as "too dovish and tenuous." His peace initiative seeks to reengage Pyongyang through a delicate mixture of dialogue and sanctions with the end goal of denuclearizing the communist regime.

"Our North Korea policy line remains intact. If the North opts to take a path of dialogue, we have many dialogue options, including bilateral and multilateral ones, and we also have plans to help the North develop its economy and prosper once it returns to dialogue," he said.

"But this is possible when it comes out for talks. The North should create conditions to enable the dialogue," he said, stressing current international sanctions and pressure are all aimed at avoiding the crisis of war and forcing the North out to the negotiating table.

Moon's dialogue-based approach was seen running afoul of Trumps' hard-line stance. In a recent tweet, the US leader said that "talk of appeasement" with the North will not work -- a statement that triggered concerns about dissonance between the allies.

Moon tried to quash such worries, saying he does not think the content of the tweet should be viewed in such narrow terms.

"I believe what President Trump wanted to say was that, not only South Korea and the US, but also China and Russia all together need to respond very firmly against North Korea's nuclear provocations," he was quoted as saying by CNN.

 He added South Korea and the US are strongly cooperating on the framework of their bilateral alliance in the face of the North's nuclear and missile provocations.

The liberal president also reiterated "confidently" that there would never be another armed conflict on the Korean Peninsula, while stressing Seoul would lead the efforts to resolve the nuclear standoff "peacefully through diplomacy."

Commenting on the latest UN Security Council sanctions resolution to punish the North's latest nuke test, the president stressed that its unanimous adoption and implementation pledges from China and Russia underscore the international solidarity against Pyongyang's nuclear program.

"Though it remains unknown whether the North would halt provocations with this resolution and it is a choice for Pyongyang to make, I believe (the resolution) shows the whole world has made a significant start," he said.

"If the North continues to launch provocations, the international community would widen the scope of oil shipment restrictions and this will definitely make the North have no other option but to stop provocations," he added.

In August, South Korea and the US held a meeting to discuss an amendment to the five-year-old bilateral free trade agreement.

The deal, which went into effect in March 2012, was intended to remove or lower trade barriers to markets that can fuel trade and generate more business opportunities. US President Donald Trump has blamed free trade deals, including the one with South Korea, for killing US jobs.

Moon told CNN that South Korea and the US will begin discussions for a more mutually beneficial deal.

Moon also voiced worries over negative assessments of the free trade deal between South Korea and the US before the two nations embark on negotiations to amend it.

The trade volume between the two countries increased to $109.6 billion in 2016 from $100.8 billion in 2011, with South Korea's trade surplus reaching some $27 billion last year, up from $11.6 billion tallied five years earlier.

Although the US has a deficit in goods trade, it has consistently enjoyed a surplus in the services trade with South Korea. (Yonhap)