Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn presides over a Cabinet meeting at the Government Complex Seoul on April 4. (Prime Minister’s Office)
By Sohn JiAe
“The Korean government and the international community will never sit back and watch North Korea continue to pursue its ambitions to be recognized as a nuclear power.”
Acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn made this remark at a cabinet meeting held at the Government Complex Seoul on April 4.
At the meeting, the acting president said, “There are major political events on the way, both in the regime and internally. In the North, there will be the Supreme People’s Assembly on April 11, Kim Il-sung’s Birthday on April 15, and the anniversary of the establishment of the Korean People’s Army on April 25. Before that, there will be a summit between the U.S. and Chinese leaders, and after that a presidential election in the South. Pyongyang will probably take advantage of these opportunities and carry out more provocations, like additional nuclear weapons tests.”
“Our government bodies, as well as military forces, must remain on alert and mobilize all available military, diplomatic and economic means to sternly respond to any of the regime’s provocations. We must go all-out with our diplomatic activities and cooperate with our major allies so as to put more pressure on the North, including through U.N. Security Council sanctions,” he said.
“In particular, Seoul and Washington will join more forces to boost the practicality of restrictions on Pyongyang by means of new polities and bills will be passed against the regime,” he added.
jiae5853@korea.kr
