(LEAD) Lee vows to improve ties with N. Korea, speed up job creation

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with Lee's speech; CHANGES headline)
By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, Jan. 4 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Myung-bak said Monday he will make it his
priority this year to reinvigorate the economy and "open a new chapter" in
tumultuous inter-Korean relations.

Lee also said that his government will take the G-20 summit slated for November
in Seoul to step up "global diplomacy" reaching out to Africa, in particular.
"The top national policy agenda of the Lee Myung-bak government in 2010 is to
revive the economy and its core is to create jobs," Lee, formerly a business CEO,
said in a 20-minute speech broadcast live across the country.
He said his administration will make all-out efforts to put an end to the
emergency economic posture within the first half of this year and make low-income
people feel the effects of economic recovery in the latter half.
South Korea, a leading Asian economy, is regaining confidence as it emerges from
the worldwide financial crisis ahead of many other nations. The country's trade
surplus hit a record high of US$41 billion in 2009 thanks to a drastic cut in
imports. After more than a year of expansionary fiscal policy, South Korean
officials are reviewing the appropriate time to begin a so-called "exit
strategy."
Lee, who took office in early 2008 on a pledge to get tougher on North Korea,
said, "We need to open a new chapter in South-North Korean ties this year."
He urged the North to return to six-way talks on its nuclear program and
expressed hope that the denuclearization of North Korea will make significant
progress, putting inter-Korean relations on the path for full-fledged cooperation
and helping greatly improve North Korean people's living standards.
"To that end, first of all, an organization for standing dialogue between South
and North Korea should be established," he said but stopped short of elaborating
on the level of talks. "I expect North Korea to open its heart with sincerity and
walk on the path of dialogue and cooperation."
Lee added Seoul will push for a joint project with Pyongyang via dialogue to
excavate the remains of South Korean soldiers who perished during the 1950-53
Korean War.
Expectations are running high over another inter-Korean summit sometime this year
amid signs of an impending resumption of the six-way nuclear talks.
In its own New Year's message, North Korea stressed the need to warm ties with
South Korea, saying that this year marks the 10th anniversary of the first
inter-Korean summit held in Pyongyang.
"Unshakable is our stand that we will improve the north-south relations and open
the way for national reunification," the North's main newspapers said in a joint
editorial issued Jan. 1. The Chosun Sinbo, a pro-Pyongyang newspaper in Japan,
also reported that the editorial portends a "dramatic event" this year, alluding
to the much-anticipated summit.
On diplomacy, the South Korean leader said he will seek closer relations with
China and Japan as well as accelerate his "New Asia diplomacy" to improve ties
with other Asian neighbors.
"This year, specially, (the government) will bolster Africa diplomacy," he said.
Lee is expected to tour a few African countries later this year.
But he skipped comments on the sensitive domestic issue of how to develop Sejong
City in the center of the nation. The administration of the late President Roh
Moo-hyun decided to relocate several ministries and other government agencies
into the town some 160 kilometers south of Seoul, but Lee is seeking to revise
his predecessor's plan.
"As the government is scheduled to announce a revised plan on Jan. 11, President
Lee did not touch on the issue," a presidential secretary said.
Lee's approval rating has rebounded to close to 50 percent, apparently boosted by
his pragmatism-oriented policy and diplomatic achievements, recent opinion polls
showed.
Meanwhile, Lee presided over a Cabinet meeting earlier in the day and plans to
hold a New Year's meeting in the afternoon with a group of about 300 leading
figures, including the prime minister, the National Assembly speaker, the heads
of the Supreme Court, the Constitutional Court, and the National Election
Commission, as well as business leaders and Chung Mong-joon, head of the ruling
Grand National Party.
Chung Sye-kyun, leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, has been invited
to attend the meeting, but he is likely to reject the offer, party sources said.
The president will then chair the meeting of senior presidential secretaries to
review pending national issues.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)