By Kim Hyo-jin
The chairwoman of the National Assembly Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee urged the government to hold new closed-door talks with North Korea, amid strained inter-Korean relations.
"We need to put more effort into narrowing the gap between South and North Korea through closed-door talks," Rep. Na Kyung-won of the ruling Saenuri party said during a radio interview, Monday.
"I encourage the government to have a forward-looking attitude on inter-Korean relations with the leverage of both open and closed talks," she added.
Na, 51, a three-term lawmaker, became the first chairwoman to lead the committee, Thursday.
She vowed to get the Assembly to play a leading role in laying the groundwork for inter-Korean unification.
Na cited the need to lift the so-called "May 24 sanctions," which ban all trading and commercial activities between the two sides except at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex. Pyongyang has demanded the sanctions be lifted before there is any inter-Korean dialogue.
"We should approach the issue with a more flexible attitude," she said. "The government may need to lift the sanctions in order to achieve the goal it set in inter-Korean relations."
Regarding North Korea policy, Na pointed to a lack of cooperation between the parties involved. "Voices of ministries, Cheong Wa Dae and neighboring countries have not been tuned well," she said.
She added that the unification ministry should take the lead in such efforts.
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| Rep. Na Kyung-won |
"We need to put more effort into narrowing the gap between South and North Korea through closed-door talks," Rep. Na Kyung-won of the ruling Saenuri party said during a radio interview, Monday.
"I encourage the government to have a forward-looking attitude on inter-Korean relations with the leverage of both open and closed talks," she added.
Na, 51, a three-term lawmaker, became the first chairwoman to lead the committee, Thursday.
She vowed to get the Assembly to play a leading role in laying the groundwork for inter-Korean unification.
Na cited the need to lift the so-called "May 24 sanctions," which ban all trading and commercial activities between the two sides except at the Gaeseong Industrial Complex. Pyongyang has demanded the sanctions be lifted before there is any inter-Korean dialogue.
"We should approach the issue with a more flexible attitude," she said. "The government may need to lift the sanctions in order to achieve the goal it set in inter-Korean relations."
Regarding North Korea policy, Na pointed to a lack of cooperation between the parties involved. "Voices of ministries, Cheong Wa Dae and neighboring countries have not been tuned well," she said.
She added that the unification ministry should take the lead in such efforts.
