Main opposition denounces Moon's NK policy amid rising tensions

The leader of the main opposition Liberty Korea Party accused the government of President Moon Jae-in on Thursday of playing no role in resolving tensions with North Korea, as Pyongyang escalated threats to fire missiles into waters around the US territory of Guam.

Hong Joon-pyo made the remark during a meeting of the party's Supreme Council, saying the standoff between the North and the US appears to have reached an "extreme" point. Just a couple of hours earlier, the North's military renewed its threat to launch missile strikes around Guam.

"This administration pledged to play a leading role in the North Korean nuclear issue, but is not playing any role at all," Hong said.

Hong also claimed that South Korea is getting increasingly sidelined by other key players involved in resolving the North Korean nuclear issue, a situation dubbed "Korea passing" in local media. That's because major powers oppose Moon's North Korea policy, he claimed.

"It's more of 'Moon Jae-in passing' than 'Korea passing,'" Hong said.

The already high tensions on the Korean Peninsula spiked further this week as the North threatened to fire missiles into waters around Guam, a key strategic point for the US military where some US strategic weapons are deployed, including B-1B and B-52 strategic bombers and the THAAD missile defense system.

The North said its strikes are aimed at sending a warning to the US.

On Thursday, the North's military rolled out a more detailed plan, threatening to simultaneously fire four Hwasong-12 intermediate-range ballistic missiles that will fly over Japan and land in waters just 30-40 kilometers off the Pacific island. (Yonhap)