Pres. Lee urges NK to pursue ‘path of peace and prosperity’

Pres. Lee urges NK to pursue ‘path of peace and prosperity’. June. 07, 2011 01:34. srkim@donga.com.

President Lee Myung-bak urged North Korea Monday to “break away from the path of confrontation and conflict and come out to the path of peace and prosperity.”

In a Memorial Day speech at the National Cemetery in Seoul, President Lee said South Korea will “continue to make sincere and consistent efforts with patience.”

His message to the North came five days after Pyongyang claimed it held secret talks with Seoul over the latter`s proposal for an inter-Korean summit. Despite the North’s breach of diplomatic protocol, the president used a calmer tone than usual in urging Pyongyang to pursue a path of peace and prosperity.

He opened his speech with the story of a South Korean soldier killed in the Korean War whose remains were found last year. Sgt. First Class Lee Cheon-woo joined the South Korean Army at age 18, a month after his older brother enlisted. Both brothers were killed in action during the Korean War.

“Though their mother passed away in 1985, the government did not forget her tears,” President Lee said in mentioning the meaning of Seoul’s search for the remains of 130,000 South Korean soldiers killed in the war. President Lee and his wife attended the funeral for the sergeant, offering condolences to his bereaved family.

After the ceremony, the president visited Seoul National Cemetery to encourage a Defense Ministry team in charge of the search. “The remains of the soldiers who defended this country are like the buttresses that prop up this country,” he said. “They will live through the Republic of Korea forever.”

The president urged the team to “make utmost efforts until the day comes when the last set of remains is found.”

Since the search for the remains of South Korean soldiers killed in the war began in 2000, the remains of 5,182 soldiers, or 4 percent, among 130,000 soldiers killed in the war, have been found.