Park vows to boost diplomatic efforts for unification with N. Korea

SEOUL, Oct. 5 (Yonhap) -- President Park Geun-hye pledged Monday to strengthen South Korea's diplomatic efforts for a peaceful unification with North Korea. Park said support and cooperation from the international community is very important, noting that she delivered that message to the international community through her speech to the U.N. General Assembly. Park has made pitches for unification in recent years, calling it a "bonanza" for South Korea as well as a blessing for neighboring countries. North Korea has long suspected that Seoul could be plotting to absorb Pyongyang, a claim denied by the South. The rival Koreas remain technically in a state of war as the 1950-53 Korean War ended in an armistice, not a peace treaty. Park believes that peaceful unification is the fundamental solution to resolve the standoff over North Korea's nuclear weapons program. Park's latest comment came amid lingering concerns that North Korea may launch a long-range rocket to put a satellite into orbit as part of its celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Workers' Party that falls on Saturday. Seoul and Washington view a satellite launch as a cover for testing the North's ballistic missile technology, which is banned under U.N. resolutions. Park also called for efforts to cut red tape to help boost corporate investment while instructing officials to make sure that many young people can find opportunity through a fund meant to help young people find jobs. Park has donated 20 million won and promised to give about 3.2 million won, or 20 percent of her monthly salary, each month to the fund. The fund, proposed by Park, drew 1.92 billion won (US$1.62 million) from about 50,000 people in just days after it was set up last month. Young people have been struggling to find jobs as local companies remain reluctant to hire new workers amid a prolonged economic slump. The unemployment rate for people between the ages of 15 and 29 stood at 8 percent in August, down from 9.4 percent a month earlier and the lowest level since October last year. Park also called for swift implementation of a set of measures that could boost competition in the financial industry. The measures include a portable account service, which is designed to connect to the computer system of local banks to make it easier for people to switch bank accounts. South Korea is also pushing to introduce Internet-only banks as part of its efforts to deregulate the local financial industry and foster the fast-growing financial technology. "The reform in the financial sector is a task that cannot be delayed anymore," Park said, describing it as the blood vessel of the economy. entropy@yna.co.kr (END)