Vice unification minister calls on N. Korea to return to dialogue

Vice Unification Minister Kim Ki-woong gives remarks at a memorial service held by people whose ancestors' graves are in North Korea, in Imjingak near Paju, 28 kilometers northwest of Seoul, Jan. 22. Yonhap

Vice Unification Minister Kim Ki-woong called on North Korea, Sunday, to halt provocations and return to dialogue, saying Seoul stands by its offers for talks.

Kim made the remarks during a memorial service in Imjingak near Paju, just south of the inter-Korean border, held by people whose ancestors' graves are in North Korea, to mark the Lunar New Year.

"The North Korean authorities must immediately halt provocations that threaten the survival of our people and respond to our government's offers for talks," he said.

"The North Korean authorities are completely disregarding their basic duty to take care of their people's livelihoods, people's natural demands to allow families to meet and our government's proposal to jointly create a prosperous future, and are following the wrong path," he added.

The vice minister urged Pyongyang to choose the right path, saying all of Seoul's offers, including its proposal for talks on arranging reunions for families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War, remain valid.

"The door to dialogue remains open," he said. (Yonhap)

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