South Korea President Calls on North Korea to Resume Dialogue

AP

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung called on Sunday for the resumption of dialogue with North Korea, after Pyongyang last week dismissed the prospect of renewed diplomacy with Seoul.

Since taking office in June, President Lee has sought to repair relations with the nuclear-armed North, which reaffirmed its hardline stance towards the South during a recent party meeting.

"As my administration has repeatedly made clear, we respect the North's system and will neither engage in any type of hostile acts, nor pursue any form of unification by absorption," President Lee said in a speech marking the anniversary of a historical campaign against Japan's colonial rule.

"We will also continue our efforts to resume dialogue with the North," he said.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last week dashed hopes of a diplomatic thaw with Seoul, describing its overtures as "clumsy, deceptive farce and a poor work".

Speaking at the party congress in Pyongyang, the North Korean leader said that the country has "absolutely no business dealing with South Korea, its most hostile entity, and will permanently exclude South Korea from the category of compatriots."

But he also said the North could "get along well" with the United States if Washington acknowledges its nuclear status.

Speculation has mounted over whether U.S. President Donald Trump will seek a meeting with  the North Korean leader during planned travels to China.

Last year, President Trump said he was "100 percent" open to a meeting.

Source: Reuters, AFP



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