President repeatedly avoids calling North’s weapons tests “provocations”
The latest data shows that the Moon Jae-in administration is reluctant to call North Korea’s military provocations what they are – “provocations.” The data and other evidence showed that the reluctance worsened after the North Korean dictator’s sister Kim Yo-jong blasted South Korean President Moon for calling the North’s missile launches a “provocation.” This trend is leading observers to speculate that Moon’s policy is being driven by deference to Kim’s desires.
According to Rep. Kang Min-kook from the main opposition People Power Party (PPP), President Moon reacted to 30 percent of the North’s military provocations since the beginning of the term, and he used the word “provocation” for just 17.5 percent of the provocations. Rep. Kang said a total of 40 military provocations occurred since the start of Moon’s term until October 24, 2021.
“President Moon called North Korea’s provocation a ‘provocation’ just eight times up until now,” Kang said. Moon used the word seven times in 2017 and once in 2021.
The 2021 statement was released soon after Moon attended the test launch of a domestically developed submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) from the Navy submarine Dosan Ahn Chang-ho on September 15. Moon delivered remarks calling the successful test a sign that South Korea has “sufficient deterrence to respond to North Korea’s provocations at any time.”
Kim Yo-jong released a statement a day after Moon’s comment in which she called Moon “too stupid” to be the president of a country. She also warned that inter-Korean relations will end up in a total deadlock if Moon continues “faulting and hurting the dialogue partner,” while adding that this was not what the North desired. “Every word and act must be made with deep thought,” she said.
There were three more military provocations from North Korea since Kim Yo-jong made such comments. On September 28, North Korea claimed that it successfully tested a new hypersonic missile called Hwasong-8. President Moon responded to this by saying Seoul will “come up with ways to respond this after analyzing North Korea’s latest statements and missile launches both thoroughly and comprehensively.”
On September 30, North Korea reportedly tested a new anti-aircraft missile. Neither Moon nor the presidential Blue House released a statement on this.
On October 19, North Korea said that it successfully tested a new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), which is a clear violation of United Nations resolutions. The Blue House said that it expressed deep regret but hoped “to see it as a sign that the two Koreas can talk again.”
Rep. Kang added that the Moon administration held 14 National Security Council meetings so far but only 7 of the cases were related to North Korea’s military provocations.
It is not just the President and the Blue House that are avoiding the term provocation. The Moon administration’s key national security officials appeared at the National Assembly’s audit session last week and showed the same stance.
Suh Wook, Minister of Defense, argued that the recent launch of the SLBM is “not a provocation and (is) a threat instead.” He argued that the military differentiates these terms. “Provocation refers to something that poses damage to our country’s air, sea, and land, as well as our people, but the recent SLBM launch was a threat from North Korea instead,” he said. In his report submitted to the National Assembly, Suh said North Korea’s SLBM is “under development.” He argued that North Korea’s technology is still in the beginning stages and its capability is not sufficiently developed.
South Korean Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong also told lawmakers that North Korea’s recent launch of SLBM is not a strategic provocation. He said the missile should not pose such a significant impact on national security to be categorized as a strategic provocation. When asked why the Moon administration is overlooking North Korea’s missile launches, Chung said, “We are not overlooking, but we make an issue of it every time by expressing our regrets.” Chung added that South Korea is capable of defending itself from the short-range missiles that North Korea recently launched. “We are managing the Korean Peninsula issue based on this kind of confidence.”
South Korean Unification Minister Lee In-young told lawmakers that North Korea’s launch of the SLBM could be interpreted as seeking conversation. “North Korea is repeatedly launching missiles but it is not launching any intercontinental ballistic missiles or conducting further nuclear tests,” said Lee. “What I am trying to say is that North Korea is not willing to head toward the decisive collapse [of our relations].” He said that this is why he believes North Korea’s recent launches are a sign that the two Koreas can talk to each other again.
Meanwhile, the PPP released a statement soon after the National Assembly’s auditing session that criticized Defense Minister Suh’s comments. “If there is a direct provocation as Suh defines it, the damage done would have to be close to apocalyptic,” said Kim Yeon-joo, a spokesperson for the PPP. “Does he really mean that in order for it to be a provocation, our land has to be damaged and our people should be killed?”
The Blue House’s definition of provocation appears to be extremely lenient to the North, instead of being focused on the safety of South Korea’s citizens.
