Following landmark discussions between the nations yesterday, the Liberty Korea Party said any talks where the scrapping of North Korea’s nuclear programme was not a precondition would only “benefit the enemy”.
Chang Je-won, spokesman for the party, said: “We should firmly keep in mind any talks where denuclearisation is not a precondition only buy North Korea more time to complete its nuclear capabilities while they fool us with their peace offensive facade.”
The warning comes after Kim Jong-un’s younger sister, Kim Yo-jong, met with South Korean leader Moon Jae-in yesterday.
The pair met in Seoul following the Winter Olympics opening ceremony, marking the biggest diplomatic step between the warring nations in a decade.
Following the talks, South Korean officials said Kim Yo-jong had invited Mr Moon to visit Pyongyang.
Mr Moon was elected on a platform of better relations with the North and ultimately a push for a diplomatic end to the nuclear standoff.
If he accepts the invite, it would be the first time leaders of the two Koreas have met since 2007.
However, editorials in the Japanese press echoed the message from the South Korean opposition, warning dialogue would be pointless unless it ultimately led to denucularisation.
An editorial in the Yomiuri Newspaper read: “What cannot be overlooked is that Moon did not directly demand North Korea to abandon its nuclear development… Moon should be aware that he has to urge denuclearisation to North Korea by himself, not depending on dialogue between the US and North Korea.”
Meanwhile, US Vice President Mike Pence has insisted the United States, South Korea and Japan are in complete agreement over their strategy of isolating the North.
The hermit kingdom has been slapped with round after round of sanctions, aimed at strangling its resources and forcing the regime to reign in its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.
Flying back to Washington after attending the opening ceremony, Mr Pence said: “There is no daylight between the United States, the Republic of Korea and Japan on the need to continue to isolate North Korea economically and diplomatically until they abandon their nuclear and ballistic missile programme.”
A White House official said although Moon did not discuss the invitation to Pyongyang with Mr Pence, the South Korean president made it very clear that only when North Korea actually starts to take steps to denuclearise would anyone even consider beginning to take the pressure off.