Head of S. Korea's state-run institute calls for flexibility toward N. Korea

SEOUL, Aug. 30 (Yonhap) -- The new head of a South Korean state-run institute on Tuesday called for more flexibility in dealing with North Korea over its two deadly attacks on the South last year.
Tensions have persisted between the two divided Koreas over Pyongyang's sinking of a South Korean warship in March last year and shelling of a South Korean border island in November.



South Korea has called for North Korea to apologize for the attacks before the countries can put their strained relations back on track. Still, the North has refused to take responsibility for the provocations that killed 50 South Koreans.
"It is important for the government to show more flexibility without undermining its principles," said Kim Tae-woo, the new president of the state-run Korea Institute for National Unification.
In a move seen as a concession to the North, Kim floated the idea of Seoul asking Pyongyang to offer an apology on a government-civilian level.
Kim even called for dialogue for the sake of dialogue between the two Koreas to lay the groundwork for full-fledged talks.
Despite the tensions, top nuclear envoys between the two Koreas met on the sidelines of a regional security meeting in Indonesia in July. The talks later paved the way for a rare meeting between North Korea and the United States on how to resume stalled negotiations on ending Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programs.
He said there is no need to attach strings to the resumption of the nuclear talks, noting there is not much to expect from the talks.
The North quit the disarmament talks in 2009, though it has since repeatedly expressed its desire to return to the talks that involve South Korea, the United States, China, Russia and Japan.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-il called for a quick resumption of the nuclear talks without any preconditions. Kim made the remarks during his meeting with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev in the eastern Siberian city of Ulan-Ude last week.
entropy@yna.co.kr