Korea dismisses Kim's calls for inter
South Korea on Monday dismissed North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's proposal for cross-border military talks as "insincere," urging Pyongyang to move toward its denuclearization.
During a key congress of the North's ruling Workers' Party of Korea late last week, Kim made the overture, saying "talks and negotiations" between the two militaries are needed for peace and reunification of the Korean Peninsula.
"It is hard to believe that there is sincerity in its offer of military talks given that the North has laid bare its intention of developing nuclear weapons," a military official said on the condition of anonymity.
"The North should stop its provocations and show its willingness to denuclearize through actions," he added.
Seoul officials believe that should the military talks be held, the North might exploit them to pressure the South to stop its propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts along the tense inter-Korean border, which observers say could jeopardize the despotic regime in Pyongyang
In retaliation for the North's fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6, the South resumed its broadcasts. The North has called the broadcasts a "threat to its communist system," as they underscore South Korea's economic achievements, the benefits of liberal democracy and the importance of human rights, and call for the restoration of the divided nation's homogeneity.
The South Korean military has put loudspeakers for the 24-hour broadcasts at 11 locations along the military demarcation line. It plans to deploy 40 additional loudspeakers along the border by the end of November.
Seoul officials also presume that Pyongyang would raise the longstanding issue of redrawing the current maritime boundary, called the Northern Limit Line (NLL), should the bilateral military talks resume.
The communist regime has long disputed the NLL, arguing that it was drawn unilaterally by the then U.S.-led United Nations Command
(UNC) after the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. It argues the NLL should be redrawn further south.
In June 2006, the two Koreas struck an agreement over a set of measures to prevent accidental clashes around the NLL. But that agreement has fallen through with Pyongyang frequently violating the de facto sea border. (Yonhap)
During a key congress of the North's ruling Workers' Party of Korea late last week, Kim made the overture, saying "talks and negotiations" between the two militaries are needed for peace and reunification of the Korean Peninsula.
"It is hard to believe that there is sincerity in its offer of military talks given that the North has laid bare its intention of developing nuclear weapons," a military official said on the condition of anonymity.
"The North should stop its provocations and show its willingness to denuclearize through actions," he added.
Seoul officials believe that should the military talks be held, the North might exploit them to pressure the South to stop its propaganda loudspeaker broadcasts along the tense inter-Korean border, which observers say could jeopardize the despotic regime in Pyongyang
In retaliation for the North's fourth nuclear test on Jan. 6, the South resumed its broadcasts. The North has called the broadcasts a "threat to its communist system," as they underscore South Korea's economic achievements, the benefits of liberal democracy and the importance of human rights, and call for the restoration of the divided nation's homogeneity.
The South Korean military has put loudspeakers for the 24-hour broadcasts at 11 locations along the military demarcation line. It plans to deploy 40 additional loudspeakers along the border by the end of November.
Seoul officials also presume that Pyongyang would raise the longstanding issue of redrawing the current maritime boundary, called the Northern Limit Line (NLL), should the bilateral military talks resume.
The communist regime has long disputed the NLL, arguing that it was drawn unilaterally by the then U.S.-led United Nations Command
(UNC) after the end of the 1950-53 Korean War. It argues the NLL should be redrawn further south.
In June 2006, the two Koreas struck an agreement over a set of measures to prevent accidental clashes around the NLL. But that agreement has fallen through with Pyongyang frequently violating the de facto sea border. (Yonhap)
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