Pres. Park Calls for ‘Substantive Dialogue’

On January 19th, South Korean President
Park Geun Hye delivered a speech connected to inter-Korean dialogue, stating, “If
the quality of cooperation and exchange between the two Koreas is raised we can
engage in realistic dialogue about unification preparation as soon as
possible.”

Deconstructing the concept of unification
preparation, the president outlined the plans to revolve around four
departments: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Unification Ministry, the
Ministry of National Defense, and the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans
Affairs. These organs are tasked with improvement and formulation of plans on
 several fronts, namely pushing forward with dialogue, exchange, and
cooperation that will truly help the lives of the North Korean people, and expanding the scope of unification preparation–calling for a solid security
base throughout the process.

After calling on the need for South Korea
to work toward creating the right conditions for dialogue, President Park went
on to address matters of security and the need for South Korea to increase its
defense capabilities.

“A solid foundation is the most important
part of building a house, and just like that, a strong foundation of security
is most important when constructing this large home for a unified Korea,” she
said, going on to stress the important role the ROK-U.S. military drills play
in security on the Korean Peninsula.

These remarks are thought to be the South’s
attempt to take a softer approach aimed at encouraging the North to engage in
real dialogue, following Kim Jong Eun’s reference to the possibility of an
inter-Korean summit in his New Year’s Address.

Reunions for separated families placed at
the top of the list among the president’s points of emphasis. “Of most
importance is to resolve the issue of these aging separated families who long
to reunite,” Park said. “I hope we can leave politics and ideologies, and recognizing
basic rights, create a solution to this end.”

Moving onto the importance of unification of the Korean Peninsula and its positive implications of peace and prosperity for not only the nation, but also international society, the president said, “As a unified
state, the nuclear issue in North Korea will undeniably be resolved, and to the
degree that we head unification, we must equally strive to find innovative and
substantive solutions for denuclearization in conjunction with the
international community, prompting North Korea to make the strategic decision
to forfeit its nuclear weapons.”

Pres. Park concluded by underscoring the need for unification preparation constructed upon a decidedly secure and stable
substructure. “We must prepare flawless response abilities to North Korea’s
nuclear threat and missiles, and no matter what threats or provocations may
come, we must establish firm military preparedness that will ensure national
safety,” Park said.