North Korea Tests Cruise Missile, South Korean President: Dialogue To Build Peace, Not A Political Show

President of South Korea Yoon Suk-yeol. (Wikimedia Commons/Dema)

JAKARTA - Dialogue between South and North Korea should contribute to peace-building, not political show, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said, hours after North Korea test-fired two cruise missiles into the sea.

Speaking at a press conference to mark his first 100 days in office, President Yoon made no mention of the launch, which was later publicly reported by the South Korean military.

President Yoon reiterated his willingness to provide gradual economic assistance to North Korea, if it can help end nuclear weapons development and begin denuclearization, noting he has called for dialogue with Pyongyang since his campaign.

"Any dialogue between the leaders of the South and the North, or negotiations between working-level officials, should not be a political show, but should contribute to building substantive peace on the Korean peninsula and in Northeast Asia," he said.

The comments were an apparent criticism of the summit that involved his predecessor Moon Jae-in, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and then-US President Donald Trump.

Despite the meeting, denuclearization talks stalled in 2019 and North Korea has said it will not "trade" in self-defense, despite having called for an end to sanctions.

President Yoon said South Korea was not in a position to guarantee North Korea's security if it gave up its nuclear weapons, but Seoul did not want a forced change in the status quo in the North.

North Korea's missile tests and nuclear development have reignited debate over whether South Korea should pursue its own nuclear weapons.

President Yoon said he was committed to the Nuclear Weapons Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and working with the United States to increase "extended deterrence" for South Korea.

"The NPT must not be abandoned and I will abide by it to the end," he stressed.

North Korea's missile launch on Wednesday was the first to be reported in months, a day after South Korea and the United States began initial joint drills ahead of the resumption of live field training halted under Moon's leadership.

A Pentagon spokesman declined to comment on what he called the "suspected cruise missile launch," but said the United States remained focused on close coordination with allies and partners to "address the threat" posed by North Korea.