South Korea voiced deep regret Thursday that North Korea has chided the South for the failure to hold inter-Korean talks, calling on Pyongyang to end its groundless verbal attacks and insults.
The North’s committee for the peaceful reunification of Korea issued a statement Wednesday that South Korea will not be able to evade responsibility for having strained bilateral relations due to its hypocrisy as it is seeking to pursue both pressure against the North and dialogue with it.
Earlier this week, the North also blamed the South for the failure to organize a joint event to mark the 15th anniversary of a historic inter-Korean summit, saying that Seoul has set unnecessary preconditions for the event.
The Ministry of Unification expressed deep regret over the North’s move and urged North Korea to accept Seoul’s offer for talks without preconditions
“Despite South Korea’s repeated proposal for talks, Pyongyang has passed the buck to Seoul for the suspension of dialogue,” said a ministry official, asking not to be named. “We express our deep regret over the North’s criticism.”
The official called on the North to come to the talks without any preconditions for peace and stability on a divided peninsula.
The North has raised the level of its provocation in recent weeks as it claimed it had successfully test-fired a submarine-launched ballistic missile. It also said that it has already miniaturized nuclear warheads enough to be placed on missiles.
Seoul, Washington and Tokyo have recently vowed to increase pressure against the North to make it abandon its nuclear weapons.
Despite lingering tension, Seoul has said that it will continue to encourage civilians to expand inter-Korean exchanges if they help promote reconciliation and restore national unity. (Yonhap)
