Moon camp wary of possible N. Korea provocations
Presidential contenders of the Democratic Party of Korea wave during a party convention at the Kwangju Women's University Universiade Gymnasium, Monday. From left are South Chungcheong Province Governor An Hee-jung, former party leader Moon Jae-in, Goyang Mayor Choi Sung and Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung. / Yonhap
By Kim Rahn
Campaigners for leading presidential contender Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) are nervous about North Korea’s possible provocations ahead of the May 9 presidential election.
With Pyongyang showing signs of preparing another nuclear test, conservative hopefuls are increasingly taking issue with the liberal frontrunner’s past remarks about the North and by extension the United States, raising questions on his views on national security.
Any fresh North Korean provocation that heightens tension on the Korean Peninsula is the last thing the Moon camp needs.
Wary of this, Rep. Park Kwang-on, one of his key campaigners, said Sunday any provocations by the North would not be tolerated.
“We will punish the North’s reckless provocations sternly, without hesitation,” he said in a statement Sunday.
In another statement Saturday, he also warned North Korea not to take “foolish action” which would jeopardize itself.
North Korea has been a major factor affecting elections here. This is partly because conservatives have used tensions with the North as leverage to attack liberals ahead of key elections. Although the impact is weaker than it used to be during the Cold War era, it still haunts liberal presidential contenders who are less hawkish toward the North than conservatives.
“If North Korea carries out the test, it will be like the crossing of the Rubicon. It will make the two Koreas unable to hold talks for a long time. With unmanageable sanctions and pressure, the North Korean regime’s future will become unpredictable,” Park said.
He called on the North to halt its nuclear ambitions, saying such weapons development cannot be tolerated.
Regarding the possible test, 38 North, a U.S.-based North Korea monitoring website, said satellite imagery showed several vehicles moving around the entrance to the Punggye-ri nuclear test site, indicating the country was preparing for a test.
South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff also said Pyongyang has been secretly preparing for a nuclear test for some time. “The North may be able to carry out the test at any time if (its leader) makes a decision to do so,” an official said.
The South Korean and U.S. military authorities have intensified monitoring of the site and nuclear test-related facilities.
Despite the rising tension, opinion polls show liberal contenders including Moon are still holding the lead in the presidential race, largely owing to the corruption scandal that has seriously damaged the conservative Park Geun-hye administration and the consequent public calls for a change of government.
According to a poll by Realmeter, Monday, Moon topped the rankings for a 12th consecutive week with support of 34.4 percent.
This was 2.2 percentage points down from the previous week, but still doubles the support of the runner-up, South Chungcheong Province Governor An Hee-jung, another DPK contender, which stood at 17.1 percent.
An was followed by former People’s Party head Ahn Cheol-soo at 12.6 percent, and Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung from the DPK, 10.2 percent.
While the top four contenders are liberals, South Gyeongsang Province Governor Hong Joon-pyo of the Liberty Korea Party (LKP) came in fifth with 9.5 percent, the highest place among conservative hopefuls.
Among parties, one in two people supported the DPK, which gained support of 50.4 percent. The People’s Party and the LKP each had 13.7 percent.
Moon’s support rate in Gwangju and the Jeolla provinces, the home turf of the DPK, was 43.1 percent, up by 6 percentage points from the previous week.
The DPK held the first round of its regional primary there, Monday, with 8,000 party members and citizens gathering at the voting venue to see the first winner of the primary. Moon told them, “I prepared and prepared again. I changed the party, prepared policies and gathered people. I prepared the blueprint for the new government. I’ll take responsibility to change the government and become a successful president.”