hankyoreh

Aug. 15. (Blue House photo pool)

By Kim Oi-hyun, staff reporter

In a response to President Park Geun-hye’s Liberation Day address, North Korea has criticized the president’s comments as “trite”. In the Aug. 15 address, Park urged North Korea to work together on the environment, people’s livelihoods, and culture.

On Aug. 17, the Rodong Shinmun, the official newspaper of the Korea Workers Party, published a signed column titled, “Can You Open the Doors of Cooperation without Removing the Lock of Confrontation?”

“President Park‘s address only reiterated her trite arguments without offering any intelligent solutions to the issues affecting inter-Korean relations. It was only pretense with no substance, and it was trite in its repeated attempts to shift the blame. Nowhere in the address was there a trace of a sincere or serious attitude about actually resolving the problems of inter-Korean relations,” the column said.

“The road to inter-Korean cooperation is blocked off by the May 24 measures, which are inherently opposed to reunification. As long as these measures are left in place, it doesn’t make sense for Park to speak about making progress on the environment, people’s livelihoods, and culture,” the column continued.

Through these comments, the North appeared to be taking issue with the fact that Park said in her address that preparation for reunification was a duty that could no longer be delayed while refusing to adopt a forward-looking position on major unresolved issues including lifting the May 24 measures and resuming tourism to Mt. Keumgang.

The column also is notable for referring to President Park as “the ruler of South Korea.” When inter-Korean relations were at a low point since Park was inaugurated as president of South Korea, Pyongyang sometimes used expressions such as “puppet ruler” and “political whore.”

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