North Korea’s state periodical Rodong Sinmun stated today that if South Korea truly desires an improvement in inter-Korean relations, the “increased mutual misunderstanding and mistrust, as well as the slanderous abuse that arouses hostility and fighting, must cease right away.”
In a piece entitled, “The Cessation of Slanderous Abuse Is The First Step Toward an Improvement in Relations,” such measures were deemed “a concrete move that directly shows (South Korea’s) will to improve relations between the North and South.”
“If the opposing side that extends a hand of good faith is spoken ill of and continues to be treated with malice, an atmosphere of improved relations can never be created. Dialogue, cooperation, negotiation and exchange can never come about in the midst of rampant, slanderous abuse,” the piece went on.
Finally, it was written that, “Slanderous abuse that deepens mistrust and confrontation among the peoples of the same race can bring nothing but armed conflict and war between North and South.”
In a separate article, the upcoming joint military drills between South Korea and the United States were criticized as, “a wicked challenge to our desire to develop North-South relations.”
Kim Jong Eun stated earlier this month that he hoped 2014 would bring a “climate for improved relations between North and South.”
