North Korea blasts Seoul’s weak response to dialogue overture

Posted on : 2014-01-06 14:31 KST Modified on : 2019-10-19 20:29 KST
North says that inter-Korean ties now depend entirely on authorities in the South

By Choi Hyun-june, staff reporter

North Korea has issued a strongly worded criticism of Seoul’s tepid response to repeated calls for improved relations since the beginning of the year. A spokesperson for the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland (CPRF), North Korea’s body for handling relations with the South, was reported by the Korean Central News Agency as accusing Seoul of “making reckless remarks that ruin the chances of improved relations and going ahead instead with rehearsals for a war of aggression against the North” since the new year.

Pyongyang, which asked that outside countries not be involved in inter-Korean relations, accused Seoul of “conspiring and stepping up anti-republic nuclear coordination with the US” and “responding to appeals for an end to slander with more deeply malicious slander.”

“The prospect for the North-South ties entirely depends on the attitude of the South Korean authorities,” it declared, suggesting the ball is now in South Korea’s court.

Meanwhile, on Jan. 2, the South Korean armed forces staged “New Year’s Enemy Full Annihilation” exercises in the area around Yeoncheon, Gyeonggi Province, with units under the Third Army Command participating. The following day, the Ministry of Unification coordinated with agencies in foreign affairs and security to release a position statement on the address stating that North Korea “made reference to improving inter-Korean relations, but one cannot help questioning their sincerity.”

North Korea has kept up its heavy dialogue push. Uriminzokkiri, its web site for propaganda aimed at South Korea, wrote on Jan. 5 that North Korea “has been absolutely consistent in its position on North-South relations. We must end the enmity and envy between North and South and create the right atmosphere for improved relations.”

Kyungnam University professor Kim Keun-sik predicted North Korea will continue to make dialogue overtures to the South. “But if it decides after a certain point that they are not going to be accepted, it could carry out some kind of provocation,” Kim added. “It’s time for the South Korean government to give serious consideration to that possibility.”

 

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