NDC Spokesman Urges S. Korean Authorities to Clarify Stand on Improving North-South Relations

Pyongyang, January 7 (KCNA) -- Talking about "sincerity of the New Year address of the north", politicians of south Korea have described the DPRK's historic appeal as an "attempt to embrace the south aimed at breaking down south Korea-U.S. cooperation" and a "dialogue offensive to get rid of the international pressure". Worse still, they estimated the U.S. "high-profile additional sanctions" against the DPRK as "proper counteraction" and again prodded the human scum into scattering anti-DPRK leaflets in frontline area for confrontation. Under the prevailing situation, a spokesman for the DPRK National Defence Commission on Wednesday issued the following statement urging the south Korean authorities to clarify their stand on some problems: Firstly, do the south Korean authorities have an idea to bring about a great change in the north-south relations through dialogue, negotiation, exchange and contact or to persist in the confrontational racket such as leaflet scattering? What matters is the fact that they still claim they can hardly stop such confrontational racket conducted under their jurisdiction on the pretexts of "freedom of expression, characteristics of social system and absence of legal grounds". The south Korean authorities should make clear their stand on whether they will choose dialogue or confrontation. Secondly, do they intend to create a peaceful environment on the Korean Peninsula or to go on escalating the tension? Instead of responding to the DPRK's peaceful call for a halt to the joint military rehearsals staged in league with outside forces, the south Korean military has declared from the outset of the new year the continuation of nuclear war exercises against the DPRK, asserting that the rehearsals would go on to keep their combat capabilities as long as "south Korea-U.S. alliance" exists. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the south Korean army flew into the sky over the southwestern territorial waters, sensitive hotspot, by a fighter, blustering that "if the north provokes, the south will not hesitate to punish it mercilessly." The south Korean authorities should clarify their stand on whether they intend to create a peaceful environment or go on escalating the tension. Thirdly, do they have a will to achieve the great unity and cohesion in the spirit of By Our Nation Itself or to resort to the moves for "unification of social systems" and "confrontation of social systems"? In south Korea, politicians and even the authorities are scheming to subordinate the dialogue and contacts for national reunification to the materialization of the present chief executive's "doctrine of gaining a great opportunity of unification". Such nonsense as "Let us achieve unification under the system of liberal democracy at the risk of our lives in 2015" is heard from them, and the minister of Unification went the lengths of calling in a public appearance for the "south-led unification". The present chief executive of south Korea did not hesitate to contend that the north should be led to make a "meaningful change" in 2015 without fail. The south Korean authorities should have a clear understanding of the DPRK's resolution and will reflected in the positive call for writing a new history of the north-south relations. The DPRK will watch the future movement of the south Korean authorities with vigilance.