Seoul cautious over N. Korea call for peace

While noting North Korea’s renewed willingness to resume the long-stalled talks with South Korea as well as regional partners, the Seoul government appears cautious not to become too optimistic about the unpredictable state’s change of attitude.

North Korea welcomed the New Year on Saturday with an editorial calling for improved ties with South Korea, in its first mention of peace since attacking a Seoul warship and a border island last year.

“The danger of war should be removed and peace safeguarded in the Korean Peninsula,” said the editorial carried by the communist state’s official media. “If a war breaks out on this land, it will bring nothing but a nuclear holocaust.”

Despite its calls for better ties, Pyongyang also maintained a tough rhetoric, warning its military is ready for “prompt, merciless action” against its enemies, the part which prompted the Seoul government to vow “continued military readiness.”

In an analysis of the editorial, South Korea’s Unification Ministry, which handles affairs with the North, said Pyongyang has shown “interest in resuming dialogue,” but also noted it “shifted blame” onto Seoul for the relations that worsened due to its own provocations.

The ministry also took note of the communist state’s emphasis on humanitarian aid, saying it may continue to create conflicts among the general South Korean public by inducing groups that oppose to their conservative government’s stern policies.

Seoul’s Defense Ministry openly suspected North Korea’s willingness to defuse tensions.

“I cannot help but doubt the authenticity of North Korea’s intentions to work on resolving tensions, especially seeing from the fact it also emphasized military readiness in the same editorial,” a senior ministry official said, asking not to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue.

Pyongyang apparently torpedoed South Korean warship Cheonan in March and bombed the Yeonpyeong Island in November.