As North Korea launched a ballistic missile into the East Sea on the 12th, the People Power Party pressed the Lee Jae-myung administration to strengthen deterrence against the North and the South Korea-U.S. alliance. The Democratic Party of Korea stressed the need to reclaim wartime operational control and establish a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula, saying the chance for dialogue must not be missed.
People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok targeted President Lee Jae-myung on Facebook that day, criticizing, "He cannot say a proper word either to North Korea, which fires missiles, or to the United States, which is pressuring for troop deployment, and keeps repeating the claim of being a 'pacemaker.'"
Jang said, "We must further strengthen our military's capabilities and uphold the South Korea-U.S. alliance without wavering. That is the president's job and the government's responsibility," adding, "But the Lee Jae-myung administration constantly goes the other way."
He went on, calling the consolidation of the service academies "virtually a declaration of abandoning South Korea's defense," and said, "The nominee for Minister of National Defense is said to agree with the claim that there would be no problem even if wartime operational control were taken back tomorrow. They picked someone who fits the administration's taste to a T."
He added, "Talking about defense while hollowing out the military's strength, and speaking of peace while shaking the South Korea-U.S. alliance, is itself deceiving the people," and said, "A president who has abandoned defense is no longer a president."
People Power Party chief spokesperson Park Seong-hoon also said in a commentary that day, "North Korea's ballistic missile launch is a show of force carried out 23 days after last month's launch," and noted it was "a clear violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions and a grave provocation that squarely threatens peace on the Korean Peninsula and in the international community."
Park said, "What is even more serious is the lax and disordered security posture of the Lee Jae-myung government, which is careless even in the face of such North Korean shows of force," criticizing, "Even as North Korea openly ratchets up its displays of force and threatens the safety of our people, the administration's gaze remains fixed on unrealistic appeasement measures and a subservient view of the North."
He urged, "We must reestablish a strong South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture and, based on a firm advantage in strength, respond firmly and thoroughly prepare for additional provocations by North Korea."
The Democratic Party did not directly mention North Korea's ballistic missile launch that day, instead emphasizing the need to build a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula and the necessity of dialogue.
About four hours after North Korea's missile launch, at about 9:20 a.m., the Democratic Party issued a written commentary under the name of floor spokesperson Lee Ju-hee titled "Military sovereignty and a peace regime on the Korean Peninsula, now is the time to grasp the hem of a historic opportunity."
Lee said, "Now that the world order has entered a period of great transition, an opportunity has finally come to the Korean Peninsula, where the yoke of the Cold War and division remains."
She continued, "South Korea is the only advanced country that does not have wartime command over its own troops," arguing, "Reclaiming wartime operational control is a sovereign decision that fully restores the president's constitutional authority as commander in chief, and a process that elevates the South Korea-U.S. alliance to a more equal and mature level on the foundation of self-reliant defense."
Lee said, "President Lee Jae-myung has declared this year the first year of reclaiming wartime operational control," and predicted, "At the South Korea-U.S. Security Consultative Meeting (SCM) this fall, we will complete the Full Operational Capability (FOC) verification and make the timing of the transfer visible."
Lee said, "The diplomatic environment surrounding the Korean Peninsula is changing rapidly," adding, "From U.S. President Trump's order to scale back combined exercises and the push for a North Korea-U.S. summit to a U.S.-China summit on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in November, significant diplomatic opportunities will continue throughout the year-end."
She added, "Now that China, a party to the armistice agreement, is also publicly urging a political resolution to Korean Peninsula issues with Russia, if we, as a party to the division, fail to seize the initiative, the window for dialogue could close at any time."
She continued, "Through the reclamation of wartime operational control and the establishment of a peace regime, we will take the lead so that South Korea can stand tall as the true master of peace on the Korean Peninsula."