Moon willing to send special envoy to N. Korea

President Moon Jae-in bows after delivering an opening speech at a press conference at Cheong Wa Dae, Thursday, marking the 100th day of his inauguration. / Yonhap

By Jun Ji-hye

President Moon Jae-in said Thursday he could consider sending a special envoy to North Korea to improve inter-Korean relations if conditions for dialogue were met.

But he made it clear that it was unnecessary for the government to be hasty in pushing for dialogue with the North.

"If conditions for dialogue are created, and if I assess it would be helpful for resolving North Korean issues and improving inter-Korean relations, I can surely consider sending a special envoy to North Korea," he said during a press conference marking the 100th day of his inauguration.

Moon took office, May 10, after a rare snap-election that followed the ouster of former President Park Geun-hye who is currently on a trial for her involvement in a corruption scandal.

President Moon stressed when the North stops additional nuclear tests and missile launches at least, the conditions for dialogue could be created.

When asked about the North's silence regarding his administration's offers made last month to hold military and Red Cross talks, the President said, "I think inter-Korean talks should be resumed but we don't need to be hasty in doing that."

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He stressed it might take some time and effort to overcome the 10-year severance of relations to reopen dialogue.

Moon also said he will not seek dialogue for dialogue's sake, saying, "Any dialogue should be conducted at a time when a fruitful result can be guaranteed."

During his speech at a ceremony marking the 72nd anniversary of the nation's liberation from the 1910-1945 Japanese colonial rule, Tuesday, Moon also stressed the door for inter-Korean dialogue still remains open, but the North should stop its provocations first.

Last month, the government proposed holding military and Red Cross talks with the Kim Jong-un regime to discuss ways to ease tension along the border, as well as humanitarian issues that included the reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.

The offers were part of efforts to implement Moon's peace overture proposed in a speech in Berlin.

But Pyongyang has not accepted the offers, saying they lacked sincerity. Rather, the repressive regime has continued missile testing, including the July 28 test-firing of a Hwasong-14 rocket that it claimed was an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of striking targets on the U.S. mainland.

The latest provocation, along with the July 4 test-firing of the same missile, resulted in the U.N. Security Council's unanimous vote for a new sanctions resolution against the North, which bans its key exports of coal and iron. The new resolution is expected to cut the Kim regime's annual export revenue by more than a third.

Moon said the purpose of these enhanced sanctions and pressure against Pyongyang is not to heighten military tension but to bring it back to the negotiating table, noting that repeated provocations will only deepen the international isolation of the North.

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