South Korea’s opposition attacks Lee over North Korea security policy

South Korea’s People Power Party stepped up its criticism of President Lee Jae Myung’s security policy on Thursday, October 22, as tensions with North Korea sharpened a political dispute in Seoul, The Korea Herald reported. Party chair Jang Dong-hyeok attacked Lee’s description of the North’s nuclear arsenal, while another party lawmaker urged Seoul to resume loudspeaker broadcasts across the border.

Jang called Lee North Korea’s ‘last line of defense,’ according to the Herald. His attack followed Lee’s remarks earlier in the week that the North’s nuclear weapons should be regarded more as a last line of defense than as weapons it would actively use in an offensive. Jang also accused the administration of moving away from its democratic allies over its emphasis on self-reliant defense; that characterization was his political claim.

Border announcements deepen the security dispute

Another party lawmaker, Choi Eun-seok, criticized Lee’s approach in a separate Thursday statement. Party floor leader Jeong Jeom-sig wrote on Facebook that the administration’s alleged pro-North Korea ideology posed an even greater threat than the North’s nuclear arsenal. Both were opposition assessments, not findings about government policy.

Lee’s nuclear policy and earlier border dispute

In a September 22 presidential address, Lee set out a phased approach to the North’s weapons program: stop further advances in nuclear and missile capabilities, pursue reductions and ultimately seek a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula. That address gives context to his policy, though the remarks Jang challenged were made later, according to the Herald.

The dispute follows criticism of Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, who said in early October that it was difficult to determine whether North Korea had deliberately planned land-mine explosions in the Demilitarized Zone. Three South Korean soldiers were injured in those explosions the previous month, the Herald reported. Separately on Thursday, lawmakers led by Na Kyung-won proposed a resolution urging Seoul to protect two North Korean prisoners of war sent from Ukraine and normalize relations with Kyiv.

Political scientist Lee Jae-mook told the Herald that a bitter partisan fight would not resolve the tensions. He called for cooperation, greater government transparency and fair compensation for people harmed by North Korean provocations, warning against an escalation that could deepen public distrust of security policy.