*Unofficial Translation
Press Release
Unification Spokesperson’s Statement
October 4, 2013
- The R.O.K. government would like to make our stance clear on North Korea’s statement by the spokesperson for the Policy Department of the National Defense Commission today (10.4).
- It is deeply regrettable that North Korea criticized our President by name with unmentionable words.
- No country in the world criticizes another country’s head of state with such harsh words and doing so is an irrational move that does not observe the basics of rudimentary etiquette.
- As South and North Korea are in the process of building trust step by step through dialogue and cooperation in spite of many difficulties, slandering the counterpart’s head of state severely undermines such efforts all the more.
- If North Korea truly wants to improve and move South-North Korea relations forward, it should start using respectful words and act with dignity based on mutual respect.
- Also, instead of commenting on ‘trend of the times’ to us, North Korea itself should look squarely at the trend of current global affairs.
- North Korea should face the fact that the international community including the R.O.K. government, is unanimously demanding North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons and take the path of change towards improving the quality of people’s life.
- Massive spending on nuclear weapons and missile development does not help the people of North Korea at all.
- Moreover, the international community is well aware of the fact that North Korea’s such actions are obstructing inter-Korean reconciliation and cooperation as well as peace and unification.
- North Korea should clearly recognize that if it ignores the just demands of the R.O.K. government and the international community, and continues to engage in provocative words and behavior, it will only become more isolated from the international community.
- North Korea should clearly read the trend of the times now and contemplate the path on which it can move away from isolation and achieve economic development.
