By Lee Min-hyung
The time is ripe for North Korea to prove its willingness to denuclearize by responding to a proposal from the U.S., Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon said in a National Assembly interpellation session Wednesday.
"It appears North Korea was not ready to respond to a big proposal from the U.S. during their second summit in Hanoi," Lee said.
It is high time for North Korea to take concrete actions in a way to verify its firm determination for complete nuclear disarmament for the peninsula, according to the prime minister.
On the second day of the four-day session, lawmakers took issue with the so-called "post Hanoi-summit" countermeasures in the wake of a failure at the meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon also attended the session to share the South's plans to rekindle the bilateral dialogue between Washington and Pyongyang.
Kang shared her views on continuing to impose sanctions on the regime unless it takes concrete steps toward denuclearization.
"I think international society should keep imposing sanctions thoroughly at a time when the North does not take specific steps for denuclearization," Kang said.
Following the fiasco of the second summit between the two, opposition parties here ramped up their criticism of the President Moon Jae-in administration for what they call "being passive" in engaging in mediating activities following the summit breakdown.
For a year, South Korea has played such a role between the U.S. and the North to push forward continued talks on denuclearization.
But both sides failed to make any outstanding progress in the dialogue due to their lingering differences on the nuclear disarmament roadmap.
Regarding a recent report by the United Nations Panel of Experts, the South Korean unification minister said his ministry would remain more careful in handling inter-Korean activities in so as not to violate international sanctions on the North.
"We will negotiate with relevant organizations handing the issue, as the latest report showed that our views on sanctions were different from those of the U.N.," Cho said.
The remarks came in response to a report that South Korea failed to notify the United Nations Security Council of the country's shipments of petroleum products to the North last year for the establishment of an inter-Korean liaison office there.
But Cho said the government does not view the petroleum shipments to the North as a violation of sanctions on the regime.
"The shipments of petroleum products to the regime were for transportation purposes when our delegations visit the North for negotiations," he said.
Kim?'s possible announcement imminent
Speculation is rampant that Kim will announce the regime's stance on the summit breakdown "shortly," as North Korean ambassadors return home.
According to sources, three North Korean diplomats, Ambassador to China Ji Jae-ryong, Ambassador to the United Nations Kim Song and Ambassador to Russia Kim Hyung-joon departed for Pyongyang Tuesday afternoon, in what critics say is a sign that the possible nuclear announcement is imminent.
It is uncommon for the North to call back its ranking diplomats all at once. For this reason, rumors have circulated that Kim Jong-un will make public the regime's possibly negative views on the ongoing denuclearization talks with the U.S in the very near future.
Last week, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui also expressed pessimism on continuing dialogue with the U.S., saying the regime considers suspending the peace talks and resuming nuclear armament.
The South Korean government said it would keep a closer tab on the recent movement from the North.
Unification ministry spokesman Baik Tae-hyun said in a briefing: "It is too early to speak about the rumors, but we are paying sharp attention to the issue."
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