PPP interim chief denounces DPK chair over trilateral naval drills remarks
Rep. Lee Jae-myung, left, chairman of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, and Rep. Chung Jin-suk, interim chief of the ruling People Power Party, attend the inauguration ceremony of Ven. Jinwoo, new executive chief of the Jogye Order at Jogye Temple in Seoul, Oct. 5. Yonhap
Ruling People Power Party (PPP) leader Chung Jin-suk lashed out at opposition leader Lee Jae-myung on Tuesday for claiming that Korea could end up seeing Japanese troops stationed in the country.
Lee made the remark on Monday while denouncing trilateral missile-defense exercises, which Korea held with the United States and Japan in the East Sea last week, as a move legitimizing Japan's Self-Defense Forces as a regular military.
His point was that such exercises would help advance Japan's ambitions to become a normal country capable of waging war and Korea could fall victim to Japan's renewed militarism and face a fate similar to the 1910-45 colonial rule.
"We cannot imagine the day when the Japanese military invades the Korean Peninsula and the Rising Sun Flag again hangs over the peninsula but it could come true," Lee said, claiming that a military alliance between Korea, the U.S. and Japan could make the Korean Peninsula a flashpoint.
On Tuesday, Chung said no one would buy Lee's claim at a time when exchanges between South Korea and Japan are set to increase further. Chung also said Lee's claim is one of two most absurd remarks, along with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's promise to give up his nuclear programs.
"I hope he won't blind the people with a frivolous take on history," he said. "I promise to the people. Unless the Republic of the Korea is in a situation where it has renounced its sovereign power, the Japanese military will not be allowed to station in Korea." (Yonhap)