South Korea’s Pres. Park Calls for Regular Talks

South Korea’s President Park Geun Hye called for a second round of high-level talks following the rare visit by three senior North
Korean officials on Saturday. “This was not a one-off discussion, we must work
to hold regular inter-Korean talks and pave the way for a peaceful
unification,” Park stated on October 6th [KST].

“The director of the General Political Department of the
Chosun People’s Army, Hwang Pyong So, attended the closing ceremony of the 2014
Incheon Asian Games followed by a meeting with high-level South Korea
officials. We hope that the discussions resulting from this visit have opened the
door to peace,” President Park said, during a meeting of chief secretaries at
the Blue House on the same day.

“This cannot be part of a vicious cycle where relations
deteriorate again after official talks,” she continued, going to on to explain
that the next round of the revived talks must be a turning point for the betterment
of inter-Korean relations. “North Korea is expected to follow the intentions
they expressed during their [weekend] visit to improve relations between the
two Koreas with genuine actions.”

These remarks by the President are understood as part of the trust process and the South’s intentions to lift
the 5.24 Measures and foster more economic cooperation with the North under set preconditions: ceasing slanderous remarks against the South, apologizing for past provocations,
and taking significant steps toward denuclearization.