Pres. Park urges N. Korean people to join efforts for unification
Pres. Park urges N. Korean people to join efforts for unification
Posted August. 16, 2016 06:48,
Updated August. 16, 2016 07:07
South Korean President Park Geun-hye delivered a speech to celebrate the 71st Liberation Day of Korea on Monday. She called for an immediate end to North Korea’s nuclear development and provocations, but no words such as conversation or exchange were heard.
It was remarkable that President Park appealed to North Korean officials and people, instead of the North Korean authorities, to participate in Seoul’s effort to bring unification to the Korean Peninsula, promising them equal treatment and a new opportunity to pursue happiness after unification. Pundits say that her speech heralds a new policy approach towards Pyongyang as the apparent intent is to separate the North's core leadership, rank-and-file officials, and people in pursuing policies towards the North.
Such a stance is an about-turn from her previous proposals for North Korea, which were made after the inauguration of President Park, such as the reunion of separated families, establishment of DMZ World Peace Park in 2013, the North’s participation in the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2014, and the exchange of a list on surviving members of the separated families in 2015. The decision shows how few options the South has been left with to pursue cooperation with North Korea, given the North’s intransigence on nuclear development and provocations and the concomitantly ongoing UNSC sanctions against the regime.
“I hope that you will all join the efforts to usher in a new era to a unified Korea where the fear of nuclear weapons and war exists no more and human dignity is valued,” said President Park, further stressing the issue over the human rights in North Korea. Some analysis holds that the speech hints at the various policies directly dealing with North Korean officials and people, under the enforcement of the Act on North Korean Human Rights and the launch of the North Korean Human Rights Foundation, which will be launched early next month.
주성하기자 zsh75@donga.com
It was remarkable that President Park appealed to North Korean officials and people, instead of the North Korean authorities, to participate in Seoul’s effort to bring unification to the Korean Peninsula, promising them equal treatment and a new opportunity to pursue happiness after unification. Pundits say that her speech heralds a new policy approach towards Pyongyang as the apparent intent is to separate the North's core leadership, rank-and-file officials, and people in pursuing policies towards the North.
Such a stance is an about-turn from her previous proposals for North Korea, which were made after the inauguration of President Park, such as the reunion of separated families, establishment of DMZ World Peace Park in 2013, the North’s participation in the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity in 2014, and the exchange of a list on surviving members of the separated families in 2015. The decision shows how few options the South has been left with to pursue cooperation with North Korea, given the North’s intransigence on nuclear development and provocations and the concomitantly ongoing UNSC sanctions against the regime.
“I hope that you will all join the efforts to usher in a new era to a unified Korea where the fear of nuclear weapons and war exists no more and human dignity is valued,” said President Park, further stressing the issue over the human rights in North Korea. Some analysis holds that the speech hints at the various policies directly dealing with North Korean officials and people, under the enforcement of the Act on North Korean Human Rights and the launch of the North Korean Human Rights Foundation, which will be launched early next month.
주성하기자 zsh75@donga.com
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