ED President's words fall short this time

During a speech Thursday marking National Armed Forces Day, President Lee Jae Myung called the Sept. 21 mine blast that injured three soldiers near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) an "unfortunate accident."

He did not venture into the terrain of what the initial joint investigation done by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the United Nations Command uncovered about the blast. The investigation determined that the three mines came from North Korea, and called the mine blast a violation of the 1953 Korean Armistice Agreement.

The final details of the investigation into the incident are expected early next week, and so the Lee administration's seeming exercise of prudence in condemning North Korea may well have been the order of the day.

However, the president's categorization of the mine blast as an "unfortunate accident" did not land well — especially to the men serving in the infantry involved, as well as their families — so much so that the presidential spokesperson was later compelled to clarify that Lee's comments were meant to comfort the injured military officers.

While the president has remained circumspect, much of the more direct statements have come from the military, with the defense minister saying that the military will consider taking retaliatory measures, while the chief of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea has called on the North to apologize.

Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, called the South's conclusions a farce. "It is too low and dirty as befitting the tribes of South Korea," Kim said in a statement carried by state media KCNA on Wednesday. "Such a farce is by no means new."

It was classic Kim Yo-jong rhetoric, which seemed to dismiss the sensitive nature of the mine blast in the buffer zone. North Korea, since calling South Korea a hostile nation, rather than a partner for reunification, has been fortifying its military facilities along the DMZ.

The mines reportedly planted south of the Military Demarcation Line dividing the DMZ may well be linked to those fortification attempts. Kim Yo-jong, in the same statement, said as much, saying the border fortifications, including barriers, were "a thorough exercise of sovereignty unrelated with any military purpose" and that any live bullet attacks from the South would be met with "retaliatory action."

In the face of such rhetoric from the North, Lee and his unification minister continue to call for talks. Most of the president's National Armed Forces Day speech still emphasized resolving the stalled inter-Korean dialogue and reiterated the need for Korea to be self-reliant when it comes to its defense capabilities.

"We will carry out practical measures with consistency to reduce the military tension," Lee said. "The knots of South-North relations are complex and intricately tied but we will work to undo them gradually and with patience."

As a diplomatic tool, engagement and dialogue with North Korea is useful and effective to maintain peace and stability. Yet relations between the two sides remain fraught, particularly given North Korea's nuclear capabilities, and any dialogue must be guided by principles that promote peace and stability.

The impetus behind the president and the administration's overall pursuit of engagement and reconciliation is likely understood by many Koreans. But the public's consent and support will wane when the seemingly carefully calibrated words from Lee and his top point man on North Korea, the unification minister, pursue unconditional engagement with North Korea without specific acknowledgement of the sacrifices its South Korea nationals may suffer in the process. A nation's president must first stand for his people.