South Korea ‘regrets’ North Korea’s rejection of dialogue
16 April 2013 6:00 AM IST
South Korea voiced regret on Monday at North Korea’s dismissal of its offer for dialogue, as the South’s armed forces remained on heightened alert for an expected missile test by Pyongyang.
Both President Park Geun-Hye and her unification ministry have, in recent days, made tentative proposals for talks in an apparent bid to reduce soaring military tensions on the Korean peninsula.
The North Korea’s immediate response was negative, calling the offers ‘empty’ and a ‘crafty trick’ to cover up Seoul’s aggressive and confrontational policies. ‘It is very regrettable that the North dismissed our offer for dialogue, which had been made after much deliberation,’ Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Hyung-Seok told reporters.
The response from Pyongyang was ‘totally incomprehensible to us and the international community,’ he added. The Korean peninsula has been in a state of heightened military tension since the North carried out its third nuclear test in February.
Incensed by fresh UN sanctions and joint South Korea-US military exercises, Pyongyang has spent weeks issuing blistering threats of missile strikes and nuclear war.
Both President Park Geun-Hye and her unification ministry have, in recent days, made tentative proposals for talks in an apparent bid to reduce soaring military tensions on the Korean peninsula.
The North Korea’s immediate response was negative, calling the offers ‘empty’ and a ‘crafty trick’ to cover up Seoul’s aggressive and confrontational policies. ‘It is very regrettable that the North dismissed our offer for dialogue, which had been made after much deliberation,’ Unification Ministry spokesman Kim Hyung-Seok told reporters.
The response from Pyongyang was ‘totally incomprehensible to us and the international community,’ he added. The Korean peninsula has been in a state of heightened military tension since the North carried out its third nuclear test in February.
Incensed by fresh UN sanctions and joint South Korea-US military exercises, Pyongyang has spent weeks issuing blistering threats of missile strikes and nuclear war.
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