Park stresses sanctions on N. Korea over dialogue, unification

By Lee Chi-dong SEOUL, Jan. 13 (Yonhap) -- Two oft-used keywords on North Korea were missing in President Park Geun-hye's New Year address: dialogue and reunification. Instead, she emphasized the need for the "strongest yet sanctions" on the nuclear-armed communist nation. On Wednesday, a week after the North's nuclear test, Park described the South as facing "emergency situations" both in security and the economy. She voiced concern that Pyongyang's provocation, allegedly hydrogen-based, may lead to a "fundamental change" in the regional security landscape. Many are anxious about the possibility of an arms race in Northeast Asia, with Japan widely viewed as capable of producing nuclear bombs. Park said her government will make every diplomatic effort to make the North's regime feel "bone-numbing" pain through the United Nations. She stressed the importance of China's role. Beijing is seen as tepid on tough sanctions on Pyongyang. "Holding the hands of those in need is (the role of) best partners," she said. "I believe China will play a necessary role as the standing member of the U.N. Security Council." The president added South Korea will review the issue of whether to allow the American forces here to deploy the THAAD advance missile defense system here from the perspective of national security and interests. She was speaking at a press conference held after reading out a 20-minute statement. China is strongly opposed to any THAAD unit on Korea, considering it as aimed at countering Beijing's military influence. "President Park's remarks on THAAD were explicit pressure on China. I was surprised to hear that part," Hwang Tae-soon, a political commentator said. As to calls for the South to go nuclear as well, she made clear her unswerving commitment to the denuclearization of the entire peninsula. She said the fate of the Kaesong Industrial Complex will depend on the North's move down the road. Park, however, stopped short of presenting a new North Korea policy vision for her remaining tenure. She has just entered her fourth year in office and is scheduled to retire in early 2018. Doubts have grown over Park's approach toward Pyongyang including her trademark Korea Trust-Building Process designed to promote mutual trust and pave the way for unification. Noteworthy was that she omitted such words as dialogue and reunification this time. In last year's New Year speech, she called on the North to return to the dialogue table. In 2014, Park said reunification will be a "bonanza" not only for the two Koreas but also for neighboring countries. Delivering his State of the Union address in Washington, meanwhile, President Barack Obama unexpectedly made no direct mention of North Korea. It was a sort of "strategic disregard" to give an impression that Pyongyang has failed if drawing Washington's attention and increasing bargaining leverage were the reasons for its fourth nuclear experiment, observers said. lcd@yna.co.kr (END)