(LEAD) Korea's security situation expected to grow 'fluid,' Cheong Wa Dae says

All News 14:39 November 04, 2020

(ATTN: UPDATES with remarks on Fukushima issue in last 3 paras; ADDS photo)

SEOUL, Nov. 4 (Yonhap) -- A top Cheong Wa Dae official said Wednesday that the Korean Peninsula's security conditions will likely be more "fluid" than ever in the coming months, potentially swayed by the results of the U.S. presidential election and North Korea's Workers' Party convention early next year.

"The fluidity of the security situation around the Korean Peninsula will increase more than ever," Suh Hoon, director of national security at the presidential office, told lawmakers during a parliamentary session.

He cited the U.S. presidential polls and the North's plan to convene the 8th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea in January 2021.

Suh said the Moon Jae-in administration will push constantly for "cooperative diplomacy" toward the four regional powers -- the U.S., China, Japan and Russia -- on the basis of national interests and principles in order to pull off the complete denuclearization of Korea and permanent peace.

This file photo shows Suh Hoon (R), director of national security at Cheong Wa Dae, talking with Chung Man-ho, senior presidential secretary for public communication ahead of a Cabinet meeting in Seoul on Nov. 3, 2020. (Yonhap)

He also called the North's fatal shooting of a South Korean fisheries official in September a "very regrettable incident," speaking during the annual audit of Cheong Wa Dae's work by the National Assembly's Steering Committee.

Suh expressed his condolences to the bereaved family members of the victim and pledged efforts "till the last" to find the truth behind the case.

During the parliamentary session, meanwhile, Noh Young-min, presidential chief of staff, said South Korea is considering joining the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)'s monitoring of Japan's reported plan to release radioactive water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea. The facilities were damaged by an earthquake and tsunami in 2011.

"The government has consistently delivered (a call) to Japan for the transparent revelation of information, consultations with the international community and sufficient communication (on the matter), whenever there's an opportunity," Noh said.

Japan is expected to request international agencies, including the IAEA, to play a role in order to secure public trust in the process, and South Korea is considering taking part in relevant activities, he added.