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Updated October 25th, 2021 at 14:37 IST

S Korea Prez Moon Jae pledges to continue to promote peace with North through dialogue

South Korea’s President said that he will keep striving to promote peace with North Korea through dialogue until the end of his term next May.

Reported by: Bhavya Sukheja
South Korea
IMAGE: AP | Image:self
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Days after Pyongyang fired its first underwater-launched ballistic missile, South Korean President Moon Jae on Monday, 25 October, said that he will keep striving to promote peace with North Korea through dialogue until the end of his term next May. In his final policy speech at parliament, the President said that he will “make efforts to the end” to help a new order for peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula be established through dialogue and diplomacy. According to Associated Press, he also went on to praise himself for paving the way for a peace process on the Korean Peninsula by holding three summits with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and helping arrange the first-ever North Korea-US summit between Kim and then US President Donald Trump in 2018. 

However, the South Korean President acknowledged that his push for peace through dialogue remains “incomplete”. 

North Korea, on the other hand, has repeatedly slammed the US and South Korea over what it calls hostility towards the North. Kim Jong Un has even vowed to strengthen his nuclear arsenal and so far rejected the Biden administration’s offer to restart talks without preconditions. Kim has often stated that Washington must first abandon its “hostile policy”, which the North refers to as sanctions and joint military exercises between the US and South Korea. 

But, it is to mention that in recent weeks, the North has re-established communication links with the South and stated that if Seoul abandons its "double-dealing attitude" and "hostile viewpoint" on its weapons development, it may take further efforts to restore bilateral relations. Earlier this month, North Korea restored its dormant communication hotline with South Korea. Additionally, officials from both sides are also using a separate channel to discuss fishing activities along their disputed maritime boundary. 

North expansion of military capabilities 

However, recently Pyongyang has again raised animosities with a resumption of provocative weapons tests. North Korea conducted its fifth set of weapons tests in recent weeks on Tuesday, 22 October firing a newly built ballistic missile from a submarine. Officials in South Korea claimed a submarine-launched missile looked to be in the early stages of development. That was the North's first underwater test since October 2019 and the most high-profile since President Joe Biden took office in January. Submarine-launched missiles are tougher to detect in advance, giving North Korea a backup, retaliatory assault capability.

Following the North's missile test, the South expressed “deep regret” over the development despite efforts to revive diplomacy. South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff claimed that the missile was launched from Sinpo on North Korea's eastern coast. The missile was launched into the sea just hours after the US reaffirmed its willingness to resume negotiations with North Korea over its nuclear weapons programme. However, the launch demonstrated how North Korea has continued to expand its military capabilities despite the diplomatic hiatus.

(Image: AP)

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Published October 25th, 2021 at 14:37 IST

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