WASHINGTON, Sept. 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korea cannot accept war as an option to deal with the North Korean nuclear threat, a senior Seoul diplomat said Tuesday in the wake of Pyongyang's sixth and most powerful atomic test.
Second Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun reminded a forum here that Washington has repeatedly put "all options" on the table over North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
But war cannot be an option, he said.
"I understand the need to stress that all options are on the table," Cho told the forum hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Korea Foundation. "But we should be careful that this does not translate into an escalation of war or cause miscalculation of North Korea."
Talk of war has persisted since U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to unleash "fire and fury" on Pyongyang following its two intercontinental ballistic missile tests in July.
"Given the calamity a war would bring about, we cannot accept a war as an option," Cho said. "This is not because we are weak or we are cowards, but indeed, because we have only too vivid memories of the Korean War."
The vice minister emphasized the need for dialogue with Pyongyang, noting there are two types -- one aimed at the North's denuclearization and the other at easing cross-border military tensions and addressing humanitarian issues.
The former should be resumed under the "right conditions," including the cessation of North Korea's provocations and threats, but the latter could proceed without undermining the sanctions and pressure campaign against Pyongyang and it would not be a "strategic mistake," according to Cho.
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