From
Send to

N. Korea slams Seoul's trust-building policy

Nov. 4, 2013 - 11:28 By 윤민식
North Korea lambasted South Korea Monday for pursuing an inter-Korean trust-building policy that it claims will only fuel tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

An article carried by the Rodong Sinmun, an organ of the ruling Workers' Party of (North) Korea, said the Korean Peninsula trust-building process is a plot to spark confrontation between different political systems and is based solely on hostile intent.

The North has opposed all forms of political unity and said unification should be achieved with each side maintaining independent governing systems.

The daily added that President Park Geun-hye's calls for the North to change and Seoul's demands for Pyongyang to "make the right choices" and show "real change" can be seen as an arrogant attempt to malign the North.

Expecting the communist country to change is just as foolish as hoping for the earth to break apart, it said.

The paper added that efforts by South Korea's Ministry of Unification to first strive for "small unification" based on closer cooperations in economics and culture is an underhanded ploy to seek political unity through stages.

The latest criticism comes days after the Rodong Sinmun said on Oct. 24 that Seoul's trust-building policy is an "anti-unification" stance that cannot be accepted by the Korean people as a whole.

The North, meanwhile, has remained silent on Park's proposal to hold a summit meeting.

The chief executive made the remark during an interview with the French daily Le Figaro ahead of her trip to Paris over the weekend.

She said a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un can be arranged to move forward cross-border relations and promote peace and stability in the region. (Yonhap News)