*** TOPIC OF THE WEEK (Part 1)

Seoul's Policy Aims to Push Pyongyang to Denuclearization, Drop Militarism

SEOUL (Yonhap) -- South Korea will press North Korea next year to denuclearize permanently, drop its obsessive militarism and open up to the outside world for what could be a Chinese-style reform, Seoul's point man on Pyongyang said on Dec. 29.

   The goals outlined by Unification Minister Hyun In-taek ahead of the new year came as President Lee Myung-bak said the stalled six-party talks are the only viable way to denuclearize North Korea.

   Holding a press conference in Seoul, Hyun acknowledged the "need to restore inter-Korean dialogue," but demanded that the North first allow its nuclear arms programs and other thorny political and humanitarian issues to be discussed in talks with the South.

   "(South Korea) will make various efforts to press North Korea to move toward denuclearization and peace in lieu of nuclear arms, open up rather than be isolated, and prioritize the living of its people over the songun (military-first) line," Hyun said.

   "I am not saying North Korea should open up by all means possible. I believe it would be right if the North could develop by opening up through at least a Chinese-style model," Hyun said.

   Citing the urgency of the issue, Hyun said Seoul will aggressively try to bring ab out the irreversible denuclearization in North Korea next year. He did not elaborate, but in an earlier report to President Lee, Hyun's ministry said Seoul would mix dialogue and pressure to resolve "crucial issues" between the two Koreas.

   South Korea descended into fury earlier this year when North Korea attacked its border island of Yeonpyeong and killed two marines and two civilian construction workers in the first such direct assault since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce.

   South Korea also holds North Korea responsible for the sinking of its warship near the western island in March. A series of punitive measures, including suspension of cross-border trade, came into effect after a multinational probe found the North culpable in May.

   Each of the deadly developments came after North Korea extended an olive branch to South Korea in an apparent bid to win aid, agreeing to the resumption of reunions of families separated by war.

   "A camouflaged peace offensive will be dealt with actively," the Unification Ministry report said, adding that the government will also step up its protest of harsh rhetoric critical of Seoul.

   Hyun said North Koreans are no longer as isolated from the outside world as in the past, dubbing it a change for the better and urging the communist regime to improve its human rights records.

   "(South Korea) will continue to try to heighten the quality of life for North Koreans and allow them to enjoy basic rights," Hyun said, demanding that the North try to ensure outside humanitarian assistance is not diverted to the military. "If transparency is guaranteed, drastic humanitarian aid (from the South) may be possible," Hyun said.

   Since the attack on Yeonpyeong, South Korea has tightened even the most urgently needed aid to North Korea, which had heavily depended on the South for rice and fertilizer for years before Lee took power in 2008 with a disciplinary stance on Pyongyang.

   Hyun also said his government will push to bring North Korea to the table to discuss a comprehensive aid-for-denuclearization deal with South Korea, a step that Pyongyang has flatly refused.

   The six-party talks include the two Koreas, the U.S., Japan, Russia and China. Lee said earlier in the day that the international community should try to denuclearize the North ahead of 2012, which Pyongyang has designated as the year to become "strong and prosperous" in both military might and economy.

   Later in the day, North Korea blasted Minister Hyun's 2011 policy plans as a scheme to destroy the North's regime.

   The North said in a commentary run by its official Web site "Uriminjokkiri" that South Korea's attempt to achieve unification by absorption would lead to an armed clash on the Korean Peninsula and a calamity for the entire Korean people.

   The commentary also said that the South Korean government's description of the North as the "enemy" in its 2010 defense white paper, released earlier this week, is virtually a "declaration of war" on the same Korean people living north of the border.

   "Even a trifling incident on the Korean Peninsula can lead to a military clash and a full-scale war. The enemy description will never be tolerated, particularly at a time of heightened tensions like today," the commentary said.

   Meanwhile, President Lee said that North Korea's nuclear program should be dismantled next year through the six-way talks, a remark that may signal Seoul's flexible stance toward the resumption of the long-stalled forum.

   "(We) have no choice but to resolve the problem of dismantling North Korea's nuclear program diplomatically through the six-party talks," Lee said as he received the 2011 policy report from the foreign ministry.

   Lee's comments came as the viability of the Beijing-based six-way negotiations is being increasingly questioned amid Pyongyang's continued provocations. In addition to the North's sudden artillery attack on Yeonpyeong Island, the secretive communist nation also revealed its new uranium enrichment facility.

   A breakthrough is being watched for when Chinese President Hu Jintao visits Washington next month for talks with U.S. President Barack Obama.

   Lee said the international community is pressed for time in denuclearizing the North, which set 2012, the centenary of the birth of the country's founder Kim Il-sung, as the target year to become a "great, powerful and prosperous" nation.

   Because of the North's goal, "(we) should certainly achieve the dismantlement of its nuclear program next year," Lee said, adding South Korea should "play an important role" in the process through bilateral talks with the North.

   The president said his government faces an urgent and important task of broadening support from neighboring nations for Seoul's efforts for peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula.

   "We should make efforts to have peace settled through inter-Korean dialogue" while trying to beef up the defense posture against the communist neighbor's provocations, he said.

   Presidential aides, however, said the president was not talking about new initiatives on relations with Pyongyang or the nuclear talks.

   "He was talking about his usual thoughts," his spokeswoman Kim Hee-jung told reporters later. "President Lee believes that peaceful reunification is most desirable," even though it may take a long time, and that it is not appropriate yet to discuss reunification through absorption, she said.

   The last round of six-party talks were held two years ago. The North quit the negotiations last year, protesting international sanctions imposed on it for nuclear and missile tests.

   Shortly after the North's shelling of Yeonpyeong Island, China proposed an emergency meeting of chief delegates to the six-way talks but South Korea rejected the offer. It said it is still premature to talk about the resumption of the nuclear talks as the North should first halt provocative acts and show its seriousness about denuclearization.

   Among Seoul's tacitly attached preconditions are Pyongyang's suspension of its nuclear activities and the return of international monitors to its major nuclear facilities in Yongbyon.

   The South Korean president had said in his national address on the Yeonpyeong incident that the North seems to have no intention of abandoning its nuclear ambitions and military brinkmanship.

   Pyongyang has made overtures since New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson traveled there earlier this month, telling the American official that they are willing to bring back international inspectors to Yongbyon.

  (END)