By Shim Jae-yun
Unification Minister Ryu Kihl-jae said Friday that dialogue between South and North Korea will possibly lead to the lifting of the May 24 sanctions imposed against the reclusive state.
"Inter-Korean economic cooperation has been stalled due to the May 24 measures. But we need to meet even if there is conflict," he said.
Ryu said the government has been studying ways to remove the sanctions, citing the need to complete related negotiations at an early date.
His statement was taken to mean that the government could adopt a flexible approach in dealing with the North.
The sanctions were imposed in retaliation for the North's torpedoing of the frigate Cheonan that killed 46 sailors during the previous government of Lee Myung-bak.
Ryu said the South will feel growing pressure to ease the sanctions, depending on the progress in trilateral logistics projects among the South, North and Russia.
The three countries have been pushing the Rajin-Khasan project that allows South Korea's steelmaker POSCO to import Russian coal via Rajin, a port city in the North.
He said Seoul is ready to actively press for social, sports, cultural and religious exchanges with Pyongyang to the full extent this year, which marks the 70th anniversary of national liberation from Japan's colonial rules.
The minister's remarks came after the North refused to accept the South's proposal for high-level talks.
Pyongyang has said it would take peaceful initiatives including a temporary termination of nuclear tests if Seoul and Washington accept two preconditions ― preventing the campaign of sending anti-North Korea leaflets across the demilitarized zone, and discontinuing joint military exercises.
The minister said Seoul is prepared to provide economic assistance to the North should the secretive state show a sincere attitude toward resolving the nuclear standoff.
Ryu criticized former President Lee Myung-bak for having revealed details of his government's secret deals with the North over pending issues in a recently published memoir.
Lee asserted that the North had demanded huge economic compensation in return for a possible summit.
"Lee should have refrained from discussing details of inter-Korean relations. It was inappropriate for him to reveal everything he knows," he said.
North Korea has also condemned the former President for having written about negotiations on inter-Korean relations, describing what Lee said as "distorted."
Unification Minister Ryu Kihl-jae said Friday that dialogue between South and North Korea will possibly lead to the lifting of the May 24 sanctions imposed against the reclusive state.
"Inter-Korean economic cooperation has been stalled due to the May 24 measures. But we need to meet even if there is conflict," he said.
Ryu said the government has been studying ways to remove the sanctions, citing the need to complete related negotiations at an early date.
His statement was taken to mean that the government could adopt a flexible approach in dealing with the North.
The sanctions were imposed in retaliation for the North's torpedoing of the frigate Cheonan that killed 46 sailors during the previous government of Lee Myung-bak.
Ryu said the South will feel growing pressure to ease the sanctions, depending on the progress in trilateral logistics projects among the South, North and Russia.
The three countries have been pushing the Rajin-Khasan project that allows South Korea's steelmaker POSCO to import Russian coal via Rajin, a port city in the North.
He said Seoul is ready to actively press for social, sports, cultural and religious exchanges with Pyongyang to the full extent this year, which marks the 70th anniversary of national liberation from Japan's colonial rules.
The minister's remarks came after the North refused to accept the South's proposal for high-level talks.
Pyongyang has said it would take peaceful initiatives including a temporary termination of nuclear tests if Seoul and Washington accept two preconditions ― preventing the campaign of sending anti-North Korea leaflets across the demilitarized zone, and discontinuing joint military exercises.
The minister said Seoul is prepared to provide economic assistance to the North should the secretive state show a sincere attitude toward resolving the nuclear standoff.
Ryu criticized former President Lee Myung-bak for having revealed details of his government's secret deals with the North over pending issues in a recently published memoir.
Lee asserted that the North had demanded huge economic compensation in return for a possible summit.
"Lee should have refrained from discussing details of inter-Korean relations. It was inappropriate for him to reveal everything he knows," he said.
North Korea has also condemned the former President for having written about negotiations on inter-Korean relations, describing what Lee said as "distorted."
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