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| Hwang Kyo-ahn |
He focused on the North's nuclear threats as well as human rights abuses of the reclusive state, condemning the Kim Jong-un regime following its alleged killing of its leader's half-brother Kim Jong-nam.
Hwang's condemnation of North Korea was part of a speech commemorating the March 1 Independence Movement Day. He delivered the speech on behalf of the impeached President Park Geun-hye.
The acting president said the government will cope with any provocations and threats from North Korea sternly by taking advantage of the Seoul-Washington defense alliance.
"We will bolster sanctions and pressure the North through various measures including U.N. Security Council resolutions, so the North will change its miscalculations," Hwang said. "By increasing our deterrence forces including the deployment of a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) battery, North Korea will learn its nuclear weapons are useless."
South Korea's National Security Office chief Kim Kwan-jin and U.S. national security adviser H.R. McMaster agreed to carry out the deployment of the missile defense system as planned this year.
During a phone conversation, they reaffirmed the need for strong countermeasures against the North's future provocations. Kim also said he would visit the U.S. soon to talk with McMaster.
Mentioning the assassination of Kim Jong-nam, Hwang said, "The killing directly showed the reality of the brutal, reckless and inhumane North Korean regime. The whole world was shocked at the terrorist attack, which took place at an airport of a third country using a chemical weapon that is banned under international law."
The prime minister also said the government would make efforts to resolve human rights abuses in North Korea, where public executions are still carried out. This was the first time for the acting president to take on the North's human rights issue officially.
"Together with the international community, we'll make full efforts to punish the perpetrator of human rights abuses," he said, targeting Kim Jong-un.
This is in line with an earlier call by Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se for the international community to take Kim to the International Criminal Court following the assassination.
Regarding the estranged relationship with Japan, Hwang urged the two countries to understand each other's histories correctly for future cooperation.
The comment about understanding history was a de facto protest of Japan's continuous attempts to claim Korea's Dokdo islets by stating they are its territory in history textbooks.
However, Hwang also called on the Korean people to respect the deal between the two countries over the wartime sexual slavery issue, which many citizens believe failed to reflect the victims' side and was hastily reached to close the row over the issue.
"Respecting and carrying out the deal will help heal the victims' pain and restore their honor," he said.
Seoul and Tokyo have been at odds over two comfort woman statues symbolizing sexual slavery victims, which were set up in front of the Japanese Embassy in Seoul and near the Japanese Consulate in Busan.
Japan claimed the deal included solving the statue issue. Protesting the new statue in Busan at the end of last year, Tokyo recalled its ambassador to Seoul in January.
Hwang also called for national unity amid the conflict between conservatives and liberals following the impeachment of President Park. In Seoul, both sides held massive anti- and pro-impeachment rallies, Wednesday. Additional massive gatherings are planned for this upcoming weekend.
