ROK to open door to DPRK for dialogue

SEOUL -- The Republic of Korea (ROK)'s President Park Geun-hye said Monday that Seoul will always open door for dialogue to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) while sternly dealing with its provocations.

Park made the remarks during a second plenary session of the presidential preparatory committee for unification between the two Koreas.

The first session was held in August. "As a proverb says'it needs dialogue even during war,'talks should continue ( between the two Koreas) for easing tensions and establishing peace on the Korean Peninsula,"Park said.

The president said expectations got high for improved inter- Korean relations after the top-level DPRK delegation's visit to the ROK and the subsequent agreement to senior-level inter-Korean talks.

Park, however, noted that situations on the peninsula are destabilized after the two Koreas traded naval gunfire in waters near the western maritime border and exchanged machine gun fires near the military demarcation line.

Park said the ROK will make efforts to establish peace on the peninsula by always opening the door for inter-Korean talks to the DPRK, while sternly dealing with the DPRK provocations.

On Oct. 10, the DPRK forces fired 14.5-mm machine gun toward balloons carrying anti-DPRK propaganda leaflets floated by a ROK civic organization, mainly made up of"defectors" from the DPRK.

No damage was reported from the ROK side, but two bullets fell in a ROK western border town. In response, the ROK military fired some 40 rounds of 12.7-mm K-6 machine gun.

Pyongyang repeatedly called for the stop of the leaflets spreading, accusing Seoul of supporting and acquiescing to the leaflets distribution.

On Oct. 7, naval ships of the two Koreas exchanged fires near the disputed western sea border after a patrol ship of the DPRK violated the Northern Limit Line (NLL).

The skirmishes were widely expected to cast a cloud over thawing inter-Korean relations. On Oct. 4, the DPRK and the ROK agreed to hold a second round of senior-level dialogue between late October and early November during the sudden visit of three high-ranking DPRK officials to ROK's Incheon.

Related stories:

Kim is a no-show at annual DPRK memorial

ROK, DPRK exchange fires across line

DPRK state media running no reports on Kim's traditional Palace visit