A spokesperson for the Blue House has revealed President Lee’s negative take on the latest North Korean conciliatory gesture of suggesting a resumption of talks between the two authorities, calling it a “public relations strategy rather than a suggestion of any sincerity.”
On a radio show put out by Peace Broadcasting Company (PBC) this morning, Kim Hee Jong asserted, “The important thing is not that North Korea does something only with words, but how much effort it makes for peaceful cooperation through actions.”
Kim went on, “The fundamental stance is to examine the resumption of the Six-Party Talks once North Korea’s sincerity has been found,” adding, “The five other participating countries excluding North Korea have reached a consensus on this.”
The President, Kim added, made clear through his New Year’s speech and elsewhere that “we are equipped with a deterrent in order to deter North Korea from carrying out provocations, but at the same time the door for dialogue is also open when North Korea shows certain changes with sincerity.”
Elsewhere, an official from the Ministry of Unification explained today that this means, saying, “In terms of inter-Korean relations, there must be responsible measures for the Cheonan sinking and Yeonpyeong Island shelling” and “actions implementing international agreements for denuclearization in convincing ways.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. has backed the South Korean position. In a morning State Department press briefing in Washington yesterday, Philip Crowley said it is “not surprising to us that South Korea’s response is we want to make sure that there is a true exhibition of sincerity in the prospect of potential talks.”
“Understand,” he added, “from the South Korean standpoint there have been, within the last year, the sinking of the Cheonan, the unwarranted shelling of South Korean territory, and these are the realities on the ground in South Korea.”
“We believe that South Korea, like the United States, is open to dialogue but want to be sure that North Korea is going to come to either a bilateral dialogue or potentially to a multilateral dialogue with a true seriousness of purpose,” he concluded.
