Seoul: South Korean Unification Minister Lee In-young called the suggested declaration of a formal end to the 1950-53 Korean War a "useful beginning point" in the hunt for a "meaningful" solution to Pyongyang's security concerns on Friday.
According to sources, Lee made the remarks as Seoul pushes for the political declaration in order to re-engage with Pyongyang and restart its stalled campaign for permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula. "I believe the end-of-war declaration would be a decent beginning point toward a real solution from the position of North Korea, which has called for the withdrawal of hostile policy," Lee said at a peace event in Goseong on the east coast. "Through the declaration, we will establish trust, and based on that trust, we may be able to move to a process in which we may have substantial negotiations on shared interests," he said.
The North has repeatedly demanded that the US end its "hostile policy" against it, while the US has stated that it has no hostile intentions and has asked for Pyongyang to return to dialogue. Seoul and Washington are in the final stages of talks for the announcement, according to Seoul officials, though it is unclear whether Pyongyang will accept it.
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