President Roh Moo-hyun says that “We will make principled concessions to NK”
President Roh Moo-hyun, who is currently on a state visit to Mongolia, had a roundtable today with the Korean residents in the capital city of Ulaanbatar. At the meeting, the President clarified Korea's stance on inter-Korean relations and the Government policy toward North Korea.
Noting that “The South Korean people do not want a collapse of the North Korean regime,” President Roh said, “We hope that the two Koreas will make progress gradually based on a stable foundation.” The President asserted that “Since there is a certain judgment of the Korean people on the Korean War, we cannot make concessions as if everything were nullified or justified.” He emphasized that “Nonetheless, without making concessions on issues of essential legitimacy, we intend to offer other structural and material assistance without preconditions.”
At the meeting, Mr. Kim Tae-hwa who owns a Hyundai and Kia dealer shop in Mongolia asked President Roh, “Please persuade the North Korean leader Kim Jong-il so that Korean cars stacked up on trains in Seoul will come directly to Ulaanbatar and the plains in Siberia will be utilized as a logistics base.” In response, President Roh said, “Let us make a concerted effort that they will reach Mongolia by land.”
With regard to the upcoming visit to North Korea by former President Kim Dae-jung, President Roh said, "I have much anticipation that North Korea might be able to have dialogue of some flexibility when they meet with former President," adding that, "I am doing my best and intend to make substantial concessions." Nonetheless, he made his stance clear as he said, “It does not mean that I will make concessions without any principle or in a way to offend self-esteem of the South Korean people."
President Roh Moo-hyun also touched upon issues involving an inter-Korean summit. He reaffirmed that his earlier proposal for a South-North Korea summit was still valid by noting that "The door is wide open for the North. Talks of any substance at any time and at any place are welcome, and let us get together and have a talk."
Nothing that "An important issue is to eliminate distrust in people's minds and conversations," President Roh said, "We can engage in candid conversations when we can have expectation that 'I would not want to harass the other party' and 'things may get better if we join hands.'"
He also stressed the importance of mutual trust between the North and South, saying "The North had agreed to open Gaeseong Industrial Complex, which means in a conventional sense giving up completely on a corridor of invading the South, and it also opened up Mt. Geumgansan that is also a very important pathway in wartime. As such, I think now it is about time that we show our trust to a limited degree, and we are making effort in this regard."
웹사이트: http://www.president.go.kr
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2008년 8월 6일 17:22
