ID :
37086
Tue, 12/23/2008 - 12:58
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/37086
The shortlink copeid
S. Korea urges North to accept dialogue offer to thaw relations
SEOUL, Dec. 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korea urged Pyongyang on Tuesday to respond to its repeated offers of dialogue to thaw cross-border relations, refuting the North's repeated accusations that Seoul's gestures are "hypocritical."
The North has recently intensified criticism against the South in nearly daily
commentaries and statements that suggest it will not lend an ear to Seoul's
proposal unless it first reverses its tough policy toward Pyongyang.
"The North is passing the responsibility to us, but the North has taken a series
of actions that have strained inter-Korean relations, including the December
first measure," Kim Ho-nyoun, spokesman for the Unification Ministry, told
reporters.
After months of tense relations, North Korea evicted hundreds of South Koreans at
the joint industrial complex in its border town of Kaesong at the beginning of
the month. It also curtailed border traffic and halted South Korean tours to a
popular mountain resort.
The North has framed the moves as retaliation against the hardline policies of
South Korea's conservative Lee Myung-bak government. Lee has suspended food aid
to Pyongyang and urged the North to come clean on its nuclear ambitions and South
Korean abductees supposedly detained in the communist country if it wants Seoul's
assistance.
Lee has, however, repeatedly stressed that his government is willing to engage in
dialogue "any time, anywhere."
The North, in a commentary in Monday's Rodong Sinmun, a newspaper published by
the Workers' Party, called the dialogue offers "hypocritical" wordplay.
"The North should swiftly respond to our unconditional offers of dialogue," the
ministry spokesman said. "We have expressed our position on several occasions
that we are willing to talk any time, anywhere, with sincerity."
North Korea, meanwhile, renewed its claim on Tuesday that it is already a nuclear
power.
Seoul maintains that the North will never be recognized as a nuclear state, as
the term only refers to nations who already possessed nuclear capabilities when
the nuclear non-proliferation treaty was adopted in 1970.
"Even if the dog barks, the train runs. However malicious the Lee Myung-bak group
may be, the situation won't change at all," the Rodong Sinmun said.
There was brief confusion early this month when the U.S. Joint Forces Command
categorized the North as one of five nuclear powers in Asia, along with China,
Russia, India and Pakistan.
The U.S. State Department promptly dismissed the categorization as a simple
mistake, saying, "That is not our national policy."
Seoul and Washington believe Pyongyang's 2006 nuclear test was only a partial
success.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
The North has recently intensified criticism against the South in nearly daily
commentaries and statements that suggest it will not lend an ear to Seoul's
proposal unless it first reverses its tough policy toward Pyongyang.
"The North is passing the responsibility to us, but the North has taken a series
of actions that have strained inter-Korean relations, including the December
first measure," Kim Ho-nyoun, spokesman for the Unification Ministry, told
reporters.
After months of tense relations, North Korea evicted hundreds of South Koreans at
the joint industrial complex in its border town of Kaesong at the beginning of
the month. It also curtailed border traffic and halted South Korean tours to a
popular mountain resort.
The North has framed the moves as retaliation against the hardline policies of
South Korea's conservative Lee Myung-bak government. Lee has suspended food aid
to Pyongyang and urged the North to come clean on its nuclear ambitions and South
Korean abductees supposedly detained in the communist country if it wants Seoul's
assistance.
Lee has, however, repeatedly stressed that his government is willing to engage in
dialogue "any time, anywhere."
The North, in a commentary in Monday's Rodong Sinmun, a newspaper published by
the Workers' Party, called the dialogue offers "hypocritical" wordplay.
"The North should swiftly respond to our unconditional offers of dialogue," the
ministry spokesman said. "We have expressed our position on several occasions
that we are willing to talk any time, anywhere, with sincerity."
North Korea, meanwhile, renewed its claim on Tuesday that it is already a nuclear
power.
Seoul maintains that the North will never be recognized as a nuclear state, as
the term only refers to nations who already possessed nuclear capabilities when
the nuclear non-proliferation treaty was adopted in 1970.
"Even if the dog barks, the train runs. However malicious the Lee Myung-bak group
may be, the situation won't change at all," the Rodong Sinmun said.
There was brief confusion early this month when the U.S. Joint Forces Command
categorized the North as one of five nuclear powers in Asia, along with China,
Russia, India and Pakistan.
The U.S. State Department promptly dismissed the categorization as a simple
mistake, saying, "That is not our national policy."
Seoul and Washington believe Pyongyang's 2006 nuclear test was only a partial
success.
hkim@yna.co.kr
(END)
