\u201cWe clearly have no intention whatsoever of harassing North Korea or collapsing its regime, however we urge North Korea to take the path of change,\u201d Minister of Unification Ryu Woo Ik repeated today for the umpteenth time.<\/p>\n
Delivering the keynote address at a ceremony to inaugurate a new committee of German and South Korean advisors at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul, Ryu declared, \u201cI believe that the difficulties we face today are the last pains before entering into a normal, healthy inter-Korean relationship.\u201d<\/p>\n
He continued, \u201cWe are trying to manage inter-Korea relations stably, and if North Korea were to abandon its nuclear weapons and embark on a new path of change, then we would cooperate with the international community to give them wholehearted support on the path of real development.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNorth Korea\u2019s reality, isolated from the global network and mired in economic depression, is a great concern for those of us working to prepare for unification,\u201d he noted. \u201cIn particular, North Korea\u2019s development of nuclear weapons threatens the peace and security of the Peninsula, and is of course fundamentally threatening to the environment for Korean Peninsula reunification.\u201d<\/p>\n
Moreover, he continued, \u201cNorth Korea\u2019s nuclear tests and subsequent military provocations only paralyze inter-Korean relations and increases tension on the Korean Peninsula. UN sanctions and our government\u2019s May 24th Measures are the price of these military provocations and a way of urging North Korea to change.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe that the harder it gets the more we must not let our effort stop,\u201d Ryu emphasized, \u201cTo make this happen we need stable channels of communication, and we are working to create these now.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u201cAs Germany\u2019s house was built beneath the roof of Europe, Korean Peninsula unification will be possible with the support of neighboring countries,\u201d he added, turning his attention to the mot du jour. \u201cThus, through active dialogue and cooperation with the four neighboring powers, a bond of sympathy for the value of Korean Peninsula unification and a greater future for Northeast Asia will open wide.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we are firm in our will to unify, neighboring countries stand by us and the people of North Korea may also have hope,\u201d he concluded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u201cWe clearly have no intention whatsoever of harassing North Korea or collapsing its regime, however we urge North Korea to take the path of change,\u201d Minister of Unification Ryu Woo Ik repeated today for the umpteenth time. Delivering the keynote address at a ceremony to inaugurate a new committee of German and South Korean advisors […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":169,"featured_media":17275,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wikipediapreview_detectlinks":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17273","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n