“I will prevent war at all cost,” President Moon Jae-in said, as cited by AFP. “I want all South Koreans to believe with confidence that there will be no war.”
Seoul can use its right to a veto on any US military action on the peninsula, the South Korean leader said.
Washington had agreed that “no matter what option they take about North Korea, all decisions will be made after consulting with and getting agreement with the Republic of Korea,” he added.
According to Moon, US President Donald Trump is “trying to pressure North Korea by showing a firm resolution.”
“All South Koreans have worked so hard together to rebuild the country from the ruins of the Korean War [of the 1950s]. We can’t lose everything with another war,” Moon said.
The South Korean leader called upon the North to “end additional provocations to create the mood for dialogue.” He added that “the red line” would be North Korea “completing its intercontinental ballistic missile [ICBM]” and “mounting it with a nuclear warhead and weaponizing it.”
“If North Korea launches another provocation, it will face even stronger sanctions and it will not be able to survive them. I would like to warn North Korea to end its dangerous gamble,” he added.