Thread by @NoonInKorea

Former Lib Korea leader Hong Joon-pyo again issues warning re NK's 'fake peace gesture': As we can see, "NK hasn't changed at all. Misreading NK's intentions could result in disaster for SK. We can't have peace on KP while NK retains its nuclear weapons"
news.donga.com/List/PoliticsN…

Hong: "The Korean Peninsula is the last spot on earth where the Cold War still reigns. To solve this issue, we can face NK down with strength or engage in dialogue. For dialogue to happen, NK has to changed its attitude. It's clear that didn't happen w/NK"
news.donga.com/List/PoliticsN…

"If the admin engages in a campaign to mislead the public that NK has changed, the result will be even more disastrous. Any misstep here could result in acknowledgement of NK's nuclear statehood. Again, we can't have peace on KP as long as NK owns nukes."
facebook.com/joonpyohong21/…

Hong also insists NK will never give up nuclear weapons: "How can it? NK can't compete with SK and the only thing going for the regime is its nukes. The minutes Kim Jong-un tries to give them up, he will be overthrown by NK's hard line elements (KPA)."
news.mk.co.kr/newsRead.php?n…

Hong was interviewed by WaPo not too long ago and he confessed that he felt betrayed by Trump: "He treats diplomacy as doing business and filing P&L statements. I still can't understand it ... I never thought the US would help SK's leftist administration"
news.chosun.com/site/data/html…

WaPo notes Trumps pics have disappeared from conservative rallies and that Hong will find it hard to adjust to SK's new political milieu. Well, that's why he's writing his memoir and taking time off in the US, where he will go back to the drawing board
washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pac…

Hong: "I'll return when people admit that my judgement was right". He also warned against an economic crisis resulting from the leftist policy of increased social spending, min wage increases, more bureaucrats, aggressive unions and chaebol persecution
hani.co.kr/arti/politics/…

Hong thinks the US-NK summit was for naught and Trump wants NK to destroy some ICBMs before midterm elections for window dressing. He thinks Trump is moving toward drawing a new Acheson Line that includes Japan-Vietnam-India & Philippines but leaves out SK
facebook.com/joonpyohong21/…

Incidentally the 2 kiddo politicians (Lee JS & Kang YJ) mentioned by WaPo aren't conservative like Hong: they're center-right and call themselves moderates. The 2 were both with Bareun-Mirae until Kang left recently after seeing Ahn Cheol-su's debacle
straitstimes.com/asia/east-asia…

"Lee who at 33 sees himself as one of a young generation of conservatives." Lee does not see himself as conservative and nor does Kang. They're both moderate who're more or less pro-free market. There're really no young conservatives along lines of Hong or older Lib Korea members