N.Korean paper urges Seoul to abandon confrontation policy

PYONGYANG (Itar-Tass) - North Korea's leading Rodong
Sinmun newspaper on Monday urged Seoul to abandon its policy of
confrontation, which blocks a peace dialogue between the North and the
South.
South Korea "is fully responsible" for the failure of military talks
last week in the border truce village of Panmunjom. Thus, Seoul "disrupted
the discussion of most important issues concerning the fate of the Korean
nation".
According to Rodong Sinmun, it is impossible to reach any progress in
relations between the two parts of the Korean peninsula "if the South
intends to continue impeding contacts and exchange".
"Only traitors of the nation can pursue such an irresponsible policy,"
the newspaper stressed. On January 20, North Korea offered Seoul to
organize a working meeting of military representatives, as well as talks
of the defence ministers "to settle burning problems in the military
sphere".
As a result, the sides had agreed to begin preliminary talks on ways
to ease military tension on the peninsula, but they ended with no result
because of big differences.
Seoul accuses Pyongyang of torpedoing the South Korean Cheonan
corvette in the Yellow Sea on March 26, 2010, as well as the shelling of
South Korean Yeonpyeong Island last November.
North Korea categorically dismisses its involvement in the sinking of
the South Korean ship. As for the shelling of the island, the leadership
of the Korean People's Army says North Korea participated in it "for
self-defence purposes".