President Lee Jae-myung speaking at a briefing at the annex of the Seoul Government Complex on the 19th, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Korea Overseas Agency) and the Ministry of Unification in attendance. Yonhap News,
, ‘[Seoul Economy] ‘,
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, ‘On the 19th, President Lee Jae-myung emphasized, “We must make every effort with patience to proactively and leadingly alleviate hostility between the South and the North.”’,
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, ‘During the briefing held at the Seoul Government Complex, President Lee remarked, “In the past, it seemed like the South and the North were pretending to be enemies, but now it seems they are becoming real enemies,” reflecting on the situation. He further assessed, “There’s no pragmatic need to intensely quarrel with North Korea, and in the end, heightened hostility directly translates to economic losses. It seems this situation has been orchestrated due to strategic ambitions, but it’s time to return to the rightful state.”’,
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, ‘He continued, “Although there has been a military standoff since the war in the 1950s, it’s the first time in decades that North Korea has erected triple fences, severed bridges and roads, and built retaining walls along the entire demarcation line.” He explained, “They are concerned that the South might invade, and that’s why they’re acting this way,” adding, “It’s the claim that ‘we are the most crucial of all enmities.’”’,
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, ‘President Lee concluded, “We need to move towards communication, dialogue, and cooperation between the South and the North, but currently, there’s not even a crack of opportunity.” He stressed, “We must patiently seek improvement as the North is completely rejecting contact. If this was a strategy, then even that strategy needs to change.”’,
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