S. Korea says dialogue with N. Korea in 2010 should help denuclearize Pyongyang

By Sam Kim
SEOUL, Jan. 4 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's point man on North Korea said Monday that
dialogue between the divided countries should bring about a "turning point" this
year in the solution of the North Korean nuclear problem.
"Among others, a turning point in resolving the North Korean nuclear problem
should be created through productive inter-Korean dialogue," Unification Minister
Hyun In-taek said in a speech to his ministry officials in a ceremony to mark the
formal start of the year.
He also called for greater regional cooperation to help end hostility on the
peninsula. "People's hope for reunification should be brought together, while
we must expand at full speed cooperation with neighboring countries to form
consensus on it," he said.
The comments by Hyun came amid speculation that the two Koreas may push for a
third summit between their leaders this year to mend ties and boost
reconciliation.
On News Year's Day, North Korea issued a statement in the form of joint editorial
of three organs of the Worker's Party, the military and a youth organization,
expressing its willingness to improve ties with South Korea, with which it
remains technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War that ended in a truce.
A pro-North Korean newspaper in Japan followed up the joint editorial by
envisioning a "dramatic event" in inter-Korean relations. On Monday, South Korean
President Lee Myung-bak proposed the two countries set up liaison offices in both
capitals.
North Korea has in recent months signaled it is willing to rejoin international
talks designed to compensate it for its nuclear dismantlement. The talks,
abandoned last year by North Korea after it launched a long-range rocket and
drew U.N. condemnation, also involve South Korea, the U.S., China, Japan and
Russia.
samkim@yna.co.kr
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