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N.Korea calls for better relations with South
[Emirates 24/7] North Korea began 2011 with calls for improved relations with South Korea after a year of tensions marked by the first deadly attack on a civilian area since the war."Confrontation between North and South should be defused as early as possible," a joint New Year editorial of three leading North Korean state newspapers said on Saturday. "Dialogue and cooperation should be promoted proactively," it said. Relations plunged after the North shelled a border island in November, killing four people, including two civilians. World leaders leapt to condemn the attack, with many calling on China to rein in its unpredictable ally, something Beijing so far appears unwilling to do. The South has since staged a series of military exercises, including a live-fire drill on December 20 on the island but the North did not follow through with threats of a new and deadlier attack. The editorial, which North Koreans are obliged to read, said: "This year we should launch a more determined campaign to improve inter-Korean relations. "Active efforts should be made to create an atmosphere of dialogue and cooperation between North and South by placing the common interests of the nation above anything else." Professor Yang Moo-Jin of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul said Pyongyang was apparently pursuing stability on the Korean peninsula to cement an eventual hereditary succession by heir apparent Kim Jong-Un. The youngest son of leader Kim Dear LeaderJong-Il ... hereditary dictator of North Korea. His definition of reunificationisn't the same as the definition in Seoul... burst into the limelight in September. He was appointed a four-star general, given senior ruling party posts and appeared in photos and at a mass parade close to his father, whose health is widely thought to be failing. The editorial, which was carried by the North's official news agency, also reiterated that Pyongyang, whose nuclear drive is the subject of currently stalled six-party talks, is committed to denuclearisation. But in a reference to South Korean military drills that have sometimes included the United States, the newspapers warned: "It is imperative to check the North-targeted war exercises and arms build-up of the bellicose forces at home and abroad that seriously threaten national security and peace." As well as the communist North's deadly shelling of Yeonpyeong island, Seoul also accuses the North of sinking one of its warships in March near the disputed border in the Yellow Sea, a charge Pyongyang strongly denies. The conciliatory tone of the editorial is in stark contrast to the bellicose language used by North Korea for much of the year as relations with Seoul dived. However, The infamous However... it did warn: "The danger of war should be removed and peace safeguarded in the Korean peninsula. "If a war breaks out on this land, it will bring nothing but a nuclear holocaust." Posted by: Fred 2011-01-02 |
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