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US welcomes S. Korea’s efforts to improve relations with N. Korea

January 13, 2015
National Security Office chief Kim Kwan-jin, left, shakes hands with North Korea's National Defense Commission Vice Chairman Hwang Pyong-so during the northern delegation's visit to Incheon in Octover. Hwang was accompanied by Choe Ryong-hae, first on the right, and Kim Yang-gon, third on the right, both secretaries in the reclusive regime's ruling Workers' Party. (Yonhap)

National Security Office chief Kim Kwan-jin, left, shakes hands with North Korea’s National Defense Commission Vice Chairman Hwang Pyong-so during the northern delegation’s visit to Incheon in October. Hwang was accompanied by Choe Ryong-hae, first on the right, and Kim Yang-gon, third on the right, both secretaries in the reclusive regime’s ruling Workers’ Party. (Yonhap)

WASHINGTON (Yonhap) — The United States welcomes South Korea’s efforts to improve relations with North Korea, the State Department said Monday, after South Korean President Park Geun-hye said she has no preconditions for an inter-Korean summit.

“We welcome ROK efforts to improve inter-Korean relations and urge the DPRK to reciprocate in kind,” State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf said at a regular press briefing in response to a request for comment on Park’s remarks on inter-Korean talks.

ROK refers to South Korea’s official name, the Republic of Korea, while the DPRK is short for the North’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

During her New Year’s news conference earlier Monday, Park said she can meet with anyone and hold a summit with the North if it helps promote unification of the Korean Peninsula. She said the North should make progress in denuclearizing itself, but that is not a precondition for talks.

Park also urged the North to accept Seoul’s offer to hold high-level talks.

Harf reiterated the U.S. stance that the North’s recent offer to temporarily suspend nuclear tests in exchange for a halt to joint U.S.-South Korea military exercises is an “implicit threat,” and urged the North to live up to its denuclearization commitments.

She also said that routine military drills between the U.S. and the South should not create tensions, “given that it’s defense-focused, defense-oriented, transparent and regularly every 40 years. I’m not sure what is a surprise about it.”

North Korea has long called for an end to annual U.S.-South Korea military drills, calling them a rehearsal for invasion of the communist nation. Seoul and Washington have rejected the demand, saying the annual maneuvers were purely defensive.