President calls on N. Korea to resume dialogue, give up provocation

By Byun Duk-kun
SEOUL, June 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Lee Myung-bak urged North Korea
Friday to resume dialogue with Seoul and the international community, saying
Pyongyang will not get what it wants through military threats or provocations.
The president at the same time emphasized that South Korea was fully ready to
counter any military provocation from the communist nation.
"Our country is facing numerous threats from North Korea. North Korea has
conducted a nuclear test, is continuing to fire short-range missiles and is
preparing to launch additional missiles," Lee said in a luncheon with some 250
veterans and independence fighters who have been awarded national medals for
their services.
"We have a responsibility to protect our people's lives and their wealth from any
North Korean threats, and we have the military strength to do so," Lee said in
the meeting a day ahead of Memorial Day.
The president also renewed his earlier remarks that North Korea will not gain
anything from its provocative actions.
"Even China and Russia, who are members of the six-party talks, have also
strongly denounced North Korea's recent nuclear test. North Korea will not be
able to pass this time," he said.
China and Russia, close allies of Pyongyang and also veto-wielding permanent
members of the U.N. Security Council, had been reluctant to punish North Korea
when the communist nation conducted its first-ever nuclear test in 2006.
They have, however, been much more active in Security Council discussions on
imposing additional sanctions on the North since Pyongyang said it conducted a
second nuclear test on May 25.
"Our country, the Republic of Korea, is ready to meet with North Korea for
discussions on the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and inter-Korean
cooperation," President Lee said, referring to his country by its official name.
The president also urged North Korea to immediately release a South Korean worker
detained on March 30 in a joint industrial park in the North's border town of
Kaesong, saying his government will protect every single one of its citizens.
"We believe North Korea must cooperate with us to help develop the Kaesong
complex and that we (North and South Korea) must meet and discuss ways to
normalize the joint project," the president said.
Lee added that increased efforts were needed to overcome the global economic
crisis, asking for the same amount of input and patriotism as defending the
country from security threats.
bdk@yna.co.kr
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