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| China-Japan-Koreas |
| Lee calls for national unity, urges Norks to resume dialogue |
| 2010-03-01 |
| SEOUL, March 1 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak urged South Koreans Monday to halt their "ideological confrontation of attrition" and choose the path of harmony, saying it is the only way for the country to seize the chance to become an advanced nation. "We can't take even a step forward if locked in the obsolete frame of ideology. We can't go on the path of advancement if the people remain divided due to confrontation and conflict," the president said in an address during a ceremony held in Cheonan, some 90km south of Seoul, to commemorate the 91st anniversary of the March 1 popular uprising for Korea's independence from Japanese colonial rule. Lee said he would continue to push for "centrist, pragmatic" policies, stressing the need to "stop the ideological confrontation of attrition and respect each other." Lee's strongly-worded message, broadcast live nationwide, comes as his reform drive faces obstacles due to political wrangling. On North Korea, meanwhile, Lee again called for the communist neighbor to seek inter-Korean dialogue in a sincere manner. Lee's policy on North Korea is also politically controversial at home. |
| Posted by:Steve White |