Moon Jae-in urges North Korea to keep peace deals, return to talks

South Korean President Moon Jae-in urged North Korea to not reverse the progress made on peace front and return to talks amid rising tension in inter-Korean relations. In a meeting with senior aides, Moon said that the promises of peace on the Korean peninsula by Chairman Kim Jong Un before our 80 million people cannot be turned back.

“North Korea should not cut communications, raise tension and try to go back to the past era of confrontation,” said the President.

The inter-Korean relations took a major hit after defector started floating the leaflets using hot air balloons or bottles to criticise Kim Jong-un’s regime over human rights violations and nuclear ambitions. North Korea decided to suspend all communication with the South saying Seoul failed to stop activists from floating 'anti-Pyongyang' leaflets. Quoting North Korean officials, North’s state-run agency KCNA said that the South Korean authorities connived at the hostile acts against Pyongyang while trying to dodge heavy responsibility with nasty excuses. 

“We have reached a conclusion that there is no need to sit face-to-face with the South Korean authorities and there is no issue to discuss with them, as they have only aroused our dismay," the report added.

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Legal action against activists

In a bid to restore the ties, Seoul later announced to press charges against the activist groups that have been throwing anti-Pyongyang leaflets near the de-militarised zone. South Korea’s Unification Ministry said in a statement the groups violated the agreement between the leaders of the North and the South and created tension. Unification Ministry spokesperson Yoh Sang-key told reporters that the two groups created tensions between the South and North and brought danger to the lives and safety of residents living in border areas.

Now the South Korean President hopes that Pyongyang will resolve uncomfortable, difficult problems through communications and cooperation. In a separate message, Moon expressed regret that North Korea-US and inter-Korean relations have not made progress as expected.

Read: South Korea Severely Criticised By Human Rights Watch Over Leaflet Row

Read: South Korea To Press Charges Against Two Groups For Sending Anti-Pyongyang Leaflets

(With agency inputs)