Ed Blame lies with NK

North Korea has declared a complete termination of inter-Korean exchange programs in an extremely hostile statement from its Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea. The committee announced “all the North-South agreements on economic cooperation and exchange null and void.” It also said it will use “lethal” military, political and economic blows on South Korea to accelerate its demise.

Pyongyang should worry about its own demise before threatening Seoul. At the rate it is charging ahead with its nuclear and missile buildup, North Korea will continue to face economic and diplomatic isolation from the international community. Despite crippling international sanctions, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered more nuclear tests after claiming for the first time that his country has made nuclear warheads small enough to fit on ballistic missiles.

Kim is gravely mistaken to blame the South for the deadlock in inter-Korean relations. This is entirely the result of the North’s own doing. We urge North Korea to stop its vile verbal attack on our nation and our commander-in-chief.

Many South Koreans back President Park Geun-hye’s stern response to North Korea’s provocations, including the closure of the joint factory town in Gaeseong.

We are in no rush to engage with the North on economic, cultural and humanitarian levels as long as Pyongyang keeps up its development of weapons of mass destruction. South Korea is not the one eager to continue inter-Korean exchanges. It is the North that needs them for assisting its survival.