Blue House: “Situation is serious, don’t agree it’s a crisis”

Posted on : 2017-08-10 17:17 KST Modified on : 2017-08-10 17:17 KST
South Korean government moves to quash rumors of “August crisis” on the peninsula, says “opportunity for a fundamental resolution will come once we’re through this”
Blue House
Blue House

Seoul is finding itself in a deepening quandary as the US and North Korea, which conducted two test launches of its ICBM-level Hwasong-14 in July alone, ratchet up their war of words over upcoming South Korea-US joint military exercises.

The South Korean government is now hustling to manage the situation and prevent the crisis from spinning out of control, while watching for possible of additional provocations from the North.

The Blue House moved to quash rumors of an “August crisis” on the peninsula, which have been intensifying amid Pyongyang and Washington’s war of words.

“We don’t agree about there being a crisis on the Korean Peninsula,” a key Blue House official said in an Aug. 9 meeting with reporters.

The official acknowledged that the situation on the peninsula was “serious in the wake of North Korea’s strategic provocation” with the Hwasong-14 test launches, but added, “We don’t see things as having reached crisis level.”

“We believe that if we manage the situation effectively, it could actually be an opportunity to overcome our difficult security situation,” the official said.

The official also stressed that Seoul had established a thorough readiness posture.

“I don’t understand why people are talking about ‘Korea passing,’” the official said, referring to a recent coinage about South Korea being passed over in dealings between North Korea and the US.

“The Blue House National Security Office is in close communication with the offices of national security aides in the US and Japan. It’s also in close communication with China and Russia,” the official said.

“The North Korean nuclear and missile situation gets worse the more things are dragged out. We’re working toward a fundamental resolution as quickly as possible, and the possibility of that is very high,” the official added.

“It may take some time to reach the stage of a final deal, but we expect to get through the main crisis quickly.”

In a regular briefing, Ministry of Unification spokesperson Baik Tae-hyun responded to references to Seoul being turned into a “sea of fire” and an “enveloping strike” operation on Guam, which appeared in spokesperson’s statements from the North Korean People’s Army General Staff and Army Strategic Force.

“The South Korea and US governments are preparing for additional provocations from North Korea and watching related movements closely,” Baik said.

Baik went on to say that North Korea’s remarks about Guam “are not helpful for the advancement of inter-Korean relations.”

“The government plans to commit constant efforts to the peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula and reconciliation and cooperation between South and North,” he said.

The Ministry of National Defense has also been beefing up its alertness posture against North Korean threats to prepare for eventualities.

“With the rise in tensions coinciding with the Ulchi-Freedom Guardian joint South Korea-US military exercises (from Aug. 21 to 31), we cannot rule out the possibility of an unintended occurrence,” a senior ministry official said.

“The armed forces establish a military readiness posture at all times for the possibility of North Korean provocations,” the official added.

By Park Byong-su, senior staff writer, Jung In-hwan and Jung Yu-gyung, staff reporters

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