Jeong Jeongsik: "President Lee Cheers Joint Drill Reduction Despite Being Sidelined... Bizarre Pro-North Korea Stalking"

Jeong Jeomsik, floor leader of the People Power Party, criticized President Lee Jaemyung on August 21 for expressing "respect" toward U.S. President Donald Trump's order to scale down the South Korea-U.S. joint exercises, stating, "What head of a country's armed forces would celebrate being sidelined from training schedules by an ally like this?" He added, "This is bizarre North Korea stalking."

At the party caucus meeting that day, Jeong said, "Even as the security situation on the Korean Peninsula is this grave, President Lee praised President Trump, saying he tried to build a peace regime on the peninsula and expressed respect. Afterward, in his Liberation Day speech, he proposed discussions on ending the war and peaceful coexistence to North Korea." Jeong made these remarks while offering criticism.

Jeong Jeomsik, floor leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at the party caucus meeting held at the National Assembly on August 14, 2026. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

Jeong also commented, "It's difficult to deny the reality that North Korea's nuclear armament capability has become highly advanced. Since the era of the Sunshine Policy, the Democratic Party administration has always spoken of peace and ending the war while maintaining a submissive posture toward North Korea. As a result, the public has been forced to live under the constant threat of North Korean nuclear weapons rather than enjoying peace."

He continued, "The Lee Jaemyung government and the Democratic Party must recognize the errors of their previous North Korea policies and abandon their submissive stance toward Pyongyang. No country in history has ever begged its enemy for peace and obtained it. Now that North Korea's nuclear advancement has become a reality, we must build strong power to pursue peace in the face of this threat."

Jeong also addressed rumors about a cabinet reshuffle by the Lee administration, saying, "There is a need to resolve the internal confusion of the foreign affairs and security team, which is faltering due to individual agendas, and to allay public concerns about security and national defense. In particular, Minister of Unification Chung Dongyoung and Minister of National Defense Ahn Kyubaek absolutely must be replaced," he said.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.