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'Kim's address shows wishes for better ties with South, US'
Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom. Korea Times file
By Kim Bo-eun
By Kim Bo-eun
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's New Year address demonstrated his wishes for improving ties with South Korea and the United States, Cheong Wa Dae said.
“Chairman Kim's firm willingness will have a positive influence in resolving the issues of the Korean Peninsula in the new year,” spokesman Kim Eui-kyeom said in a text message to reporters.
The ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and most parties welcomed the North Korean leader's address, in which he affirmed his willingness for the state's denuclearization.
“We welcome the fact that (the North Korean leader) clearly stated firm willingness for complete denuclearization and establishment of peace on the Korean Peninsula and for improved inter-Korean relations,” the DPK's spokesman Hong Ihk-pyo said in a statement.
Referring to Kim's remarks that he is prepared to sit down with U.S. President Donald Trump again for denuclearization talks, the spokesman said, “This shows positive prospects of a high-level meeting and summit between North Korea and the U.S.”
But the main opposition Liberty Korea Party gave a skeptical response.
“Talking about corresponding measures such as easing the international community's sanctions without taking actual steps to discard its nuclear program is only a repetition of its previous stance,” the LKP's spokesman Yoon Young-seok said in a statement.
The spokesman said without North Korea making progress in denuclearization, its calls for resuming operation of the inter-Korean Gaesong industrial complex and tours to Mount Geumgang would be impossible.
North Korea claimed dismantled facilities at its Punggye-ri nuclear and Tongchang-ri missile sites, but these steps have yet to be verified. It has been refusing to submit a list of its nuclear inventory, as the U.S. has been calling for.
The minor conservative Bareunmirae Party said the North Korean leader appears to be willing to work toward peace on the Korean Peninsula, based on statements on meeting Trump for a second summit, and mentions of resuming tours to Mount Geumgang.
However, it echoed that Pyongyang would first have to take denuclearization steps for tours as well as the operation of the Gaeseong complex to be resumed.
The minor liberal Party for Democracy and Peace said the address delivered a message that North Korea wants to make a breakthrough in the stalemate in the denuclearization and sanctions relief issues and make a debut as a normal state of the international community.
The minor progressive Justice Party said Kim speaking extensively on improvements in inter-Korean relations in the past year and positively evaluating this shows that he is willing to continue such relations.