Seoul Urges N. Korea to Stop Hostility

South Korea's Defense Ministry on Wednesday urged North Korea to halt its recent verbal attacks against the administration of Lee Myung-bak, one day after the communist nation called the South Korean president a "traitor."

The call was Seoul's first official reaction to recent hostility by Pyongyang, which has threatened to suspend all inter-Korean dialogue, accusing Seoul of preparing preemptive strikes against its nuclear facilities.

In a radio message sent to the North's chief representative to inter-Korean military talks, Lt. Gen. Kim Yong-chol, the Defense Ministry said the North was intentionally making a malicious interpretation of Seoul's objectives and remarks by its officials.

"Our side has sincerely upheld the non-aggression agreement between the South and the North and this position will not change in the future," Seoul's chief delegate to North-South military dialogue, Maj. Gen. Kwon Oh-sung, said in the message.

The North Korean general on Saturday accused South Korea's new chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Kim Tae-young, of making remarks that hint at possible preemptive strikes on the North's nuclear facilities and demanded Seoul retract Kim's remarks and apologize.

The Defense Ministry refused to apologize or admit to the accusation, saying Kim's remarks, made at his National Assembly confirmation hearing late last month, only described the country's defense manual in case of an armed conflict.

"We see it as inappropriate for your side to raise issues based on your own interpretation of remarks by one of our officials, and we deeply regret this," Kwon said in the message to his North Korean counterpart.

"We urge you to immediately stop your recent activities, as such intentional slander and fostering of tension do not help ensure peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula," he said, adding Seoul is always ready to engage in dialogue with the North. (Yonhap)