Minister says North hasn’t changed
Published: 20 Oct. 2009, 03:34
South Korean Foreign Minister Yu Myung-hwan said he doesn’t believe North Korea has fundamentally changed despite its recent charm offensive, and insisted that the South Korean government will not accept North Korea as a nuclear state.
Addressing Seoul-based foreign correspondents in a seminar yesterday, Yu said for all the conciliatory steps the North has taken of late, from releasing detained American reporters to staging reunions of dispersed Korean families. “There is no real ground as yet to view the North’s softening stance as an indication of fundamental change in its position on the nuclear issue,” according to a transcript released by the Foreign Ministry.
The minister noted that the North in September revealed that its uranium enrichment program for weapons development had entered its final phase and then fired short-range missiles earlier this month.
Yu also stressed that the South Korean government remains committed to the efforts to achieve “complete denuclearization” of the North and added the government “remains firm in the stance that it cannot recognize North Korea as a nuclear-weapon state.”
“[South] Korea seeks to strengthen inter-Korean relations through the denuclearization of North Korea,” Yu added, calling denuclearization “a top priority in our policy” on the North.
“If North Korea sincerely wishes to see progress in inter-Korean relations, it should promptly return to the six-party talks, and demonstrate that it really has taken a strategic decision for denuclearization,” he said.
The minister also said that the international community has agreed to maintain pressure on North Korea through sanctions until the North comes up with “concrete denuclearization measures.”
“The important thing to bear in mind is that these sanctions are imposed not for the sake of taking sanctions but rather with the aim of bringing the North back to the dialogue table,” he said.
By Yoo Jee-ho [[email protected]]
Addressing Seoul-based foreign correspondents in a seminar yesterday, Yu said for all the conciliatory steps the North has taken of late, from releasing detained American reporters to staging reunions of dispersed Korean families. “There is no real ground as yet to view the North’s softening stance as an indication of fundamental change in its position on the nuclear issue,” according to a transcript released by the Foreign Ministry.
The minister noted that the North in September revealed that its uranium enrichment program for weapons development had entered its final phase and then fired short-range missiles earlier this month.
Yu also stressed that the South Korean government remains committed to the efforts to achieve “complete denuclearization” of the North and added the government “remains firm in the stance that it cannot recognize North Korea as a nuclear-weapon state.”
“[South] Korea seeks to strengthen inter-Korean relations through the denuclearization of North Korea,” Yu added, calling denuclearization “a top priority in our policy” on the North.
“If North Korea sincerely wishes to see progress in inter-Korean relations, it should promptly return to the six-party talks, and demonstrate that it really has taken a strategic decision for denuclearization,” he said.
The minister also said that the international community has agreed to maintain pressure on North Korea through sanctions until the North comes up with “concrete denuclearization measures.”
“The important thing to bear in mind is that these sanctions are imposed not for the sake of taking sanctions but rather with the aim of bringing the North back to the dialogue table,” he said.
By Yoo Jee-ho [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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