01:12
President of the Republic of Korea (ROK) Moon Jae-in on Monday called on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to find a breakthrough together through dialogue, according to the presidential Blue House.
"I know well about Chairman Kim Jong Un's determination and efforts to change the Korean Peninsula situations in an epoch-making way. I also feel very sorry that progress hasn't been made in the DPRK-U.S. and the inter-Korean relations as expected," Moon told a meeting with his senior aides.
Moon acknowledged that it is "high time" for the two sides to find a breakthrough together. "No longer sit and wait for improved conditions," he added.
Kim Yo Jong (R) stands next to her elder brother, DPRK leader Kim Jong Un, during a summit in the border village of Panmunjom, April 27, 2018. /AP
Kim Yo Jong (R) stands next to her elder brother, DPRK leader Kim Jong Un, during a summit in the border village of Panmunjom, April 27, 2018. /AP
Moon said he wished to actively find and put into practice the projects that the two countries can choose and push for on their own, vowing to continue efforts to gain consent from the international community.
He expressed his anticipation that the DPRK would open its door for dialogue and put ideas together.
Moon's comment came after Kim Yo Jong, first vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and younger sister of DPRK leader Kim Jong Un, said in a statement Saturday night that she had given instructions for decisive action to be taken.
"If I drop a hint of our next plan the South Korean (ROK) authorities are anxious about, the right to taking the next action against the enemy will be entrusted to the General Staff of our army," she said, adding that the army "will determine something for cooling down our people's resentment and surely carry it out."
02:23
The DPRK has repeatedly lashed out at the ROK since last week in protest against anti-Pyongyang propaganda leaflets sent by defectors and activists across the border. Pyongyang has also closed its joint liaison office and cut off all communication lines with Seoul.
Moon said the ROK and the DPRK should go step by step towards peace and reconciliation, albeit slow-footedly, noting that the agreements, reached by the current leaders of the two sides, must be implemented sincerely.
He vowed to make constant efforts for the agreement implementation between the two sides regardless of any change in political situations, calling for Pyongyang to resolve any inconvenient and difficult issues through communications and cooperation with Seoul while refraining from returning to an era of confrontation.
Denuclearization talks between the DPRK and the United States have stalled since the second summit between the DPRK leader and U.S. President Donald Trump ended with no agreement in February 2019 at the Vietnamese capital of Hanoi.
Moon in April offered to the DPRK to resume inter-Korean cooperation by jointly tackling the COVID-19 pandemic.
(With input from Xinhua)