YONHAP NEWS

(LEAD) N. Korea extends olive branch to South ahead of Obama's visit

By Kim Hyun
SEOUL, Nov. 17 (Yonhap) -- North Korea made an unusually straightforward peace overture on Tuesday, vowing efforts to improve relations with South Korea and resolve tension stoked by a recent naval confrontation.

   The conciliatory move, published by an editorial of the North's major newspaper Rodong Sinmun, came on the eve of U.S. President Barack Obama's trip to South Korea, the last leg of his maiden Asia tour. Obama's two-day visit here is expected to highlight North Korea issues as well as Seoul-Washington relations.

   "We will continue to make active efforts for the improvement of North-South relations," the Workers' Party paper said. The editorial was carried by the North's Korean Central News Agency.

   North Korean leader Kim Jong-il has called improving inter-Korean relations an "urgent" matter to bring peace to the peninsula, the paper cited.

   The party newspaper's overture was in sharp contrast to the threatening tone the North Korean military took last week, warning of "merciless" military actions over a naval skirmish on Nov. 10. The navies of the South and the North exchanged gunfire along the western maritime border, with both sides blaming each other for initiating the two-minute confrontation.

   "In such circumstances where one party distrusts its dialogue partner and escalates confrontation and even carries out a military provocation, North-South relations cannot be normalized," the paper said.

   "In the midst of mutual hostility and escalating military tension, nothing but war will break out," it added.

   The Rodong Sinmun also criticized the recent completion by South Korea and the U.S. of their joint action scenario, called OPLAN 5029, to deal with contingencies in North Korea.

   "We have taken a number of bold actions for reconciliation and cooperation between the Koreas," the paper said, citing the lifting of border traffic rules and cross-border reunions of separated families. "But the situation in South Korea grows increasingly dubious and completely opposite to the directions and demands of the Korean people."

   The paper stressed that the future of inter-Korean relations "entirely depends on the attitude of the South Korean authorities."

   Yang Moo-jin, professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said North Korea timed its overture to coincide with Obama's summit with South Korean President Lee Myung-bak set for Thursday.

   "It says improving relations with South Korea and also the United States is Chairman Kim Jong-il's resolution," Yang said. "There is a more direct message than usual -- 'Let us not be swayed by the naval skirmish and the military hawks and do right by each other between our governments.'"

   hkim@yna.co.kr
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