President Park Geun-hye on Monday urged North Korea to open up to the world and engage in dialogue with South Korea to improve the lives of its impoverished people.

At a national meeting on unification, Park stressed that her doctrine of “trustpolitik” and other visions for unification were meant to bring North Korea forward and encourage it to become a responsible member of international society, not to further isolate it.

Listing countries including Mongolia, Myanmar, and Cuba, Park urged North Korea not to turn away from the wave of change that other countries have recently embraced for improved lives of their people. 

“Countries like Mongolia, Vietnam and Myanmar are on track for development and growth after they pursued reform and opened their doors,” Park said at the presidential preparation committee for the unification of two Koreas.

“North Korea should take the path to reform and dialogue as soon as possible by accepting the wave of change, not ignoring it,” she said.

South Korean president also quoted a recent remark by former president of Mongolia and urged North Korea to learn from the central Asian country’s experience.

In a recent interview with local media, Punsalmaagiin Ochirbat, who ruled Mongolia from 1990 to 1997, said that security came from a strong economy, not nuclear programs, urging North Korea to adopt change if it wants to feed its people.

She also mentioned a recent move by the United States and Cuba to establish diplomatic ties and end decades of estrangement.

The president also asked the panel to prepare a road map to seek support and investment from neighboring countries for her vision of unified Koreas.

”Many countries and global firms are making massive investments in infrastructure projects in developing countries,” she said.

“We have to come up with measures to attract both public and private funds from around the world to the Korean Peninsula, and make sure that the investment becomes seed money for global growth.”

The remarks came amid escalating tension following Pyongyang’s intensified threat against Seoul over leaflets decrying the regime and its planned joint military drills with Washington.

Park criticized the North for its continuation of threats, despite the South Korean government’s offer of high-level talks. North Korea has remained silent on the offer of ministerial talks to discuss such bilateral issues.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)