SEOUL, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Wednesday urged the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to abandon its "infeasible" policy line of simultaneous development of nuclear program and economy and push ahead with the policy of opening and reform.
"Now, North Korea (DPRK) should come to the path of a genuine development through opening and reform by staying away from the infeasible line of simultaneous nuclear and economic development," Park said during her keynote speech at the Seoul Defense Dialogue that opened here Wednesday.
It marked the first time that a top South Korean leader attended the vice ministerial-level regional security forum that was launched in 2012.
The three-day event has drawn about 250 defense officials and private security experts from 30 nations including China, the United States and Japan, and four international agencies such as the United Nations and the European Union.
Discussions will be held in three sessions on the unification of the Korean Peninsula and global security, analysis and management of maritime crisis in East Asia, and cyber security and defense cooperation, respectively, according to the S.Korean defense ministry.
Park said that peaceful reunification of the two Koreas would be very important for world peace and harmony.
The reunified peninsula would serve as the fundamental solution to nuclear and human rights issues in the DPRK and as the end to the 20th century's Cold War, Park said.
The South Korean government has consistently pushed for its policy of trust-building process on the peninsula to fundamentally resolve security issues of the peninsula as well as the DPRK's nuclear ambition issue, Park noted.
Regarding East Asian situations, Park said that close exchanges and cooperation have been going on in terms of economy in the region, but she noted that security cooperation mechanism to establish peace and stability hasn't taken place yet.
Related:
China welcomes ROK-DPRK family reunion deal
BEIJING, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- China has welcomed plans being discussed by the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to hold regular reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.
The ROK and the DPRK agreed in talks on Tuesday to further discussion of the initiative. Full story
S.Korea, DPRK agree to hold higher-level talks for regular family reunion
SEOUL, Sept. 8 (Xinhua) -- South Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) agreed Tuesday on higher-level Red Cross talks to discuss ways of regularly holding the reunion of Korean families, separated by the 1950-53 Korean War.
Three delegates each from the two sides ended their working- level Red Cross contact at 10:10 a.m. Tuesday (0110 GMT) after kicking off at 10:50 a.m. Monday, reaching an agreement on the humanitarian event. Full story
DPRK carries out construction activities at Yongbyon site: IAEA
VIENNA, Sept. 7 (Xinhua) -- The UN nuclear agency on Monday said the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is carrying out renovation and construction activities at its Yongbyon site.
"We have observed renovation and construction activities at various locations within the site," International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Yukiya Amano told a board meeting in Vienna. Full story