President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday urged Pyongyang to take a sincere step toward realizing inter-Korean talks, in response to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s offer of conditional dialogue last week.

“North Korea should come forward for inter-Korean talks and cooperation as soon as possible, to discuss specific projects to establish peace and unification on the Korean Peninsula,” she said while presiding over a weekly Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae.

President Park Geun-hye speaks at a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday. Yonhap
President Park Geun-hye speaks at a Cabinet meeting at Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday. Yonhap

Park said that she was “glad” to hear that North Korea was willing to hold summit talks. North Korean leader Kim demonstrated his desire to hold a “top-level meeting” with the South and restore cross-border ties in his New Year’s address. But Park requested that the communist state show its commitment first, as a series of previous proposals have ended in failure.

“I was glad to hear that North Korea demonstrated its will to promote inter-Korean talks and exchanges in the New Year’s speech,” she said. “I believe it is important for North Korea to show its sincerity and action at this point in time.”

Park’s request was seen as a test of whether Pyongyang is truly committed to talks with the South. She wants Pyongyang to accept Seoul’s offer first to hold ministerial talks in January to discuss a wide range of issues including the reunion of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.

However, questions remain about whether North Korea would hold talks with the South, amid escalating tension with the United States. The U.S. imposed new economic sanctions Friday against Pyongyang in retaliation for its alleged cyberattack on Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Last year, the two Koreas had agreed to hold high-level talks. But the North turned down the deal suddenly in protest against anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent by North Korean defectors in South Korea. The North has also demanded that the South halt its annual military exercises with the U.S. as a prerequisite for inter-Korean talks. Seoul has remained firm, saying that it has no plan to suspend the joint drills.

Reiterating the significance of holding a cross-border dialogue this year, the president urged the North to work together with the South to usher in “the era of unified Koreas” and to put an end to the “tragic division” of two Koreas. This year marks the 70th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japan. Under the influence of two foreign powers, the United States and former Soviet Union, Korea was divided soon after it was liberated from Japanese rule in 1945.

At the Cabinet meeting, Park ordered officials to make efforts to revitalize the nation’s economy and accelerate the drive to reform both the public and private sectors. She also vowed to complete the reform of the civil servant pension system within her term. Her presidency ends in early 2018. However, she remained silent about the prosecution’s investigation into a leak of documents involving her former aides.

The prosecution concluded on Monday that a police superintendent who worked as an intelligence officer at Cheong Wa Dae fabricated the so-called “Chung Yoon-hoi documents” and delivered them to the president’s brother under the instruction of his “direct superior” Cho Eung-cheon.

Her senior press secretary told reporters earlier in the morning that the investigation had revealed that a few people within the presidential office “rocked the nation” because they had “ulterior motives.”

By Cho Chung-un ()


koreaherald@heraldcorp.com