Lee says door for inter-Korean dialogue still open

President Lee Myung-bak said Monday that the door for inter-Korean dialogue remains open, adding to hopes of a thaw in frosty relations between the two Koreas and the resumption of the long-stalled six-way talks over the communist nation's nuclear weapons drive.

"I remind the North that the path toward peace is yet to be closed. The door for dialogue is still open," Lee said in his New Year's address broadcast live.

Lee, however, urged the communist regime to show its seriousness about talks through action.

"Nuclear weapons and military adventurism must be discarded. The North must work toward peace and cooperation not only with rhetoric but also with deeds," he said.

Lee reiterated that should the North show sincerity, the South has "both the will and the plan to drastically enhance economic cooperation" in partnership with other nations.

The overture came amid cautious expectations that the North may change its course after years of military brinkmanship. In its joint newspaper editorial on Jan. 1, closely watched for its general policy in the new year, the North said confrontation between the two sides should be defused as early as possible while it markedly toned down direct criticism for the Lee administration.

The North backed off from threats of military retaliation against the South's live-fire naval drills last month. The top U.S. envoy on North Korea plans to visit the Northeast Asian region on a mission to seek ways to restart the six-way nuclear negotiations.

The South Korean president called for other nations to step up efforts to persuade the North to change its course.

"It is imperative now more than ever for countries concerned to play a fair and responsible role," he said, apparently referring to the participating countries in the long-stalled six-way nuclear talks ― China, the U.S., Japan, Russia and the two Koreas.

He also stressed that unity is the best tool for national security. The North's provocation has often split the public opinion in the South, which is plagued by ideological rifts.

"We should stand together as one on the issue of national security. We must not forget that the best possible security measure is a people united," he said.

Lee said the North's Nov. 23 shelling of the Yellow Sea island of Yeonpyeong was yet another wake-up call for the South on national security.

"The situation before and after the provocation against Yeonpyeong Island cannot be the same," he said. "I will step up efforts for defense reform."

He compared the Yeonpyeong incident with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. in 2001.

"The United States went back to the drawing board to devise new security and national strategies, because the safety and security of its people had come under threat," he said. "From now on, we need to establish and carry out peace and reunification policies based on solid national security."

He added, "Taking it a step further, we need to make endeavors to engage our North Korean brethren in the long journey toward freedom and prosperity." (Yonhap)