LOC18:25
15:25 GMT
TOKYO, Aug 23 (KUNA) -- South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Wednesday that his administration will pursue efforts to engage North Korea, while at the same time, denuclearize the country, Yonhap News Agency reported.
"Efforts for denuclearizing North Korea and improving the South-North Korea relationship are not a matter of choosing one over the other, they should rather be pursued in a way that they make up for each other," Moon was quoted as saying in a foreign policy briefing session.
His remarks came as South Korea and the US are warming towards an approach of direct talks with North Korea to achieve the denuclearization of the country, instead of insisting on their previous hard-line stance that dialogue could come only after headway in the denuclearization front.
"There were some notable remarks by US President Donald Trump and (Secretary of State) Rex Tillerson about North Korea's restraint in making provocations and South Korea will make proactive and leading efforts to have these positive moves lead to a window of opportunity in the near future," Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam later told the press.
The session also reaffirmed South Korea's determination to find a peaceful resolution to North Korea's nuclear stalemate and prevent a war from taking place on the Korean Peninsula in any case, according to Lim. (end)
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