The government has issued a statement that
it will not undertake the pre-emptive measures requested by North Korea as
preconditions for bilateral talks. The preconditions include suspending
ROK-U.S. joint military exercises and lifting the May 24th measures.
“The preconditions which the North has
submitted are a problem that we need to meet and consult with North Korean
representatives in order to solve,” Ministry of
Unification spokesperson Lim Byeong Cheol stated on January 26th at a regular
briefing.
Spokesperson Lim also pointed out that “forcing our
government to deal with these kind of unreasonable preconditions before even
meeting is not conducive to the continued development of sincere and productive
inter-Korean relations. He added that if North Korea truly harbors the
will to improve bilateral relations it will come to the meeting table instead
of issuing unrealistic preconditions prior to such an event.
Spokesperson Lim also brought up the
proposal to hold a January meeting between the North and South at a
Presidential Preparatory Committee for Unification meeting on December 29th.
She stressed, “We are not urging North Korea to respond before a certain set
deadline. We don’t need to have these committee talks in January. The offer to
talk extends beyond that date.”
Lim continued, “No
matter what North Korea’s response, from this point on,
the government will thoroughly evaluate North-South relations in order to
investigate what the appropriate counter measures are.”
Meanwhile, a statement from North Korea’s Policy for the National Defense Committee came out on January
25th, wherein it was stipulated that in order to hold a conference with the
South, it would be necessary to lift the May 24th measures, suspend U.S. and
South Korean coordinated military drills, and cease launches of anti-Pyongyang
propaganda by private activist groups across the border.
