Unification minister presses N. Korea to respond to Yoon's 'audacious' plan

Unification Minister Kwon Young-se, South Korea's point man on inter-Korean relations, holds a press conference at the government complex in Seoul, Sept. 8. Yonhap

South Korea's unification minister on Monday urged North Korea to respond to Seoul's dialogue offer revolving around the Yoon Suk-yeol administration's "audacious" proposal designed to help improve its economy and the livelihoods of its people in exchange for denuclearization.

Kwon Young-se delivered the message at a forum on unification-related policy in Seoul as the North remains unresponsive to the South's outreach for inter-Korean talks.

"Since its launch, the Yoon Suk-yeol administration has put in all efforts within our capacity for a virtuous cycle of North Korea's denuclearization and improving inter-Korean relations while fulfilling agreements of the past administrations and offering our audacious plan," he said. "But North Korea has rejected our calls, distorting and denigrating (our plan) saying it is no different from the past."

Kwon also called on Pyongyang to return to dialogue based on "mutual respect and benefit," saying the two Koreas could discuss the "political and military conditions" mentioned by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un at a recent Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) meeting.

At the session earlier this month, Kim said that the political and military conditions of the Korean Peninsula must change for there to be any adjustment to its new nuclear policy that allows the immediate launch of a nuclear strike.

Earlier this month, Kwon also made a public offer of talks with North Korea to discuss the issue of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War. Pyongyang has remained unresponsive to it as of Monday.

"The government will continue to make efforts without setting a time limit so that North Korea responds as soon as possible," Cho Joong-hoon, the ministry's spokesperson, said during a regular press briefing.

Meanwhile, the South's defense ministry said it will respond sternly in accordance with the "principle of reciprocity" should Pyongyang violate the Sept. 19 comprehensive military agreement between the two sides signed in 2018 during then South Korean President Moon Jae-in's visit to Pyongyang for summit talks with Kim Jong-un.

Inter-Korean relations have been stalled since a no-deal summit between the North and the United States in February 2019. (Yonhap)

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