The Ruling Party, Government and Cheongwadae All Strike Back at Opposition's Attacks on "Nuclear Power Plant in North Korea"

[경향신문]

On February 1, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy released the document on the construction of a nuclear power plant in North Korea. Yonhap News

On February 1, President Moon Jae-in said, “People are facing difficult times in their livelihoods as it is. I ask that you do not encourage confrontation with obsolete political tactics we should be throwing out causing a political setback.” The president did not directly mention it, but his words criticized the opposition party’s accusations that the government tried to secretly promote a plan to construct a nuclear power plant in North Korea. At a meeting with his senior secretaries and aides at Cheongwadae, President Moon also said, “I hope to see politics that cooperates and competes with better policies to solve the problems in the people’s livelihood.”

A senior Cheongwadae official met with reporters and described the opposition party’s allegations of “helping the enemy” as “a political attack and ideology framing that crossed the line.” He fiercely criticized the opposition saying, “It is an irresponsible attempt at propaganda by deceiving the people.” The opposition party argued that a document on the construction of a nuclear power plant in North Korea, which was drawn up by a working-level official at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, to submit ideas, proved that the government tried to promote the plan in secret and defined this as an attempt to help the enemy. Cheongwadae believes the conservative opposition party has gone too far in its political attacks.

With sanctions against North Korea tightly in place by the international community, it is impossible for the government to promote the construction of a nuclear power plant in North Korea alone, without any progress in North Korea’s nuclear problem. Cheongwadae believes the opposition party, despite being well aware of the reality, is making rash accusations because of upcoming elections. Cheongwadae stressed, “We are still considering legal action” against Kim Chong-in, head of the People Power Party emergency committee, who argued that the government tried to “help the enemy.”

Minister of Unification Lee In-young appeared on TBS radio and said, “We urgently reviewed over forty pages of documents concerning the new economy initiative on the Korean Peninsula, but there wasn’t a word on nuclear power plants.” He dismissed the opposition party’s accusation that details on the nuclear power plant in North Korea was included in a USB, which President Moon handed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at the time of the April 27 Panmunjom Summit in 2018.

Due to the ongoing controversy, the energy ministry disclosed the original report, “Promoting the Construction of a Nuclear Power Plant in North Korea.” The six-page document included three measures to promote the construction of a nuclear power plant in North Korea and listed the pros and cons. However, at the head, the report clearly states, “This document is for an internal review on possible alternatives in the case we are to promote the construction of a nuclear power plant in North Korea in the future, and is not an official government position.”

It appears the ruling party, the government and Cheongwadae all struck back because the opposition party continued its attacks, despite explanations from relevant ministries that the government did not try to build a nuclear power plant in North Korea. The ruling party is reportedly considering releasing the USB, registered as confidential information.

The People Power Party continued to argue that the government tried to help the enemy and called for the government to release the details of the USB along with details on how the document in question was drawn up and deleted. The party’s floor leader Joo Ho-young said, “We will continue to seek out the truth on whether there was a document on aiding the construction of a nuclear power plant and on any classified information in connection to the South Korean light-water reactor in the USB.” Choi Hyung-du, the party’s floor spokesperson released a comment and struck back at the president’s criticism of “obsolete politics” and said, “Concealing the truth with power and tricking the people is indeed obsolete politics and one deceiving the people.”