This article is from the source 'nytimes' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.

You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/01/world/asia/north-korea-leader-seeks-meeting-with-south.html

The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.

Version 0 Version 1
North Korea Leader Seeks Meeting With South North Korean Leader Seeks Meeting With South’s President
(35 minutes later)
TOKYO — In a nationally televised New Year’s speech, the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, said Thursday that he was open to holding a summit meeting with the South Korean president, proclaiming his willingness to make a “big shift” in the current tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Mr. Kim was apparently responding to an overture this week by South Korea to resume high-level dialogue. He spent much of the annual 30-minute speech, his third since taking control of the isolated Communist country, calling for improved relations between the rival Koreas. TOKYO — In a nationally televised New Year’s speech, the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, said Thursday that he was open to holding a summit meeting with the South Korean president, proclaiming his willingness to make a “big shift” in the tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
In the speech, carried on state-run television, he also signaled that he was willing to meet directly with President Park Geun-hye of South Korea. “Depending on the mood and circumstances to be created, we have no reason not to hold the highest-level talks,” said Mr. Kim, who spoke before a red flag with the hammer, sickle and calligraphy brush symbol of the Workers Party. Mr. Kim was apparently responding to an overture this week by South Korea to resume high-level dialogue. He spent much of the annual 30-minute speech, his third since taking control of the isolated Communist country, calling for improved relations between the rival Koreas.
In the speech, carried on state-run television, he also signaled that he was willing to meet directly with President Park Geun-hye of South Korea. “Depending on the mood and circumstances to be created, we have no reason not to hold the highest-level talks,” said Mr. Kim, who spoke before a red flag with the hammer, sickle and calligraphy brush symbol of the Workers’ Party.
It remained unclear whether his offer was truly an overture, or just another ploy in the constant maneuverings between the Koreas, which remain technically at war more than 60 years after combat on the peninsula ended. Tensions have risen recently amid suspicions that North Korean hackers may have been behind cyberattacks on a South Korean nuclear plant operator.It remained unclear whether his offer was truly an overture, or just another ploy in the constant maneuverings between the Koreas, which remain technically at war more than 60 years after combat on the peninsula ended. Tensions have risen recently amid suspicions that North Korean hackers may have been behind cyberattacks on a South Korean nuclear plant operator.
The United States may also be engaged in a shadowy, cyberconflict with the North, whose tenuous Internet connections have suffered major disruptions, just weeks after a devastating digital breach of Sony Pictures for which the F.B.I. has blamed the Kim government. The tensions over the cyberattacks have added to a continuing standoff over North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs. The United States may also be engaged in a shadowy cyberconflict with the North, whose tenuous Internet connections have suffered major disruptions, just weeks after a devastating digital breach of Sony Pictures for which the F.B.I. has blamed the Kim government. The tensions over the cyberattacks have added to a continuing standoff over North Korea’s nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs.
In the speech, Mr. Kim said a summit meeting or other high-level talks would be possible if the South showed it was serious about easing tensions.In the speech, Mr. Kim said a summit meeting or other high-level talks would be possible if the South showed it was serious about easing tensions.
“If South Korean authorities sincerely want to improve relations between North and South Korea through talks, we can resume stalled high-level meetings,” he said, according to Reuters.
On Monday, South Korea offered to hold minister-level talks on issues like reunions of families separated by the 1950-53 Korean War. The administration of Ms. Park has cited this year’s 70th anniversary of the end of Japanese colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula as a chance to thaw ties between the Koreas.