Pres. Park Delivers Message for North Koreans at the ASEAN Summit
On Tuesday, South Korean President Park Geun-Hye delivered a message to the North Korean people saying they can be assured of equal opportunities after unification, Korea JoongAng Daily reported.
The statement was made in a joint press conference after the bilateral talk with U.S. President Barack Obama in Vientiane, Laos.
The president said, "Improving the lives of the North Korean people is an important stepping stone for unification. Unification will offer the opportunity to the North Korean people of equal treatments."
Park has made clear since her Liberation Day address in August that she will treat separately the North Korean citizens and the Kim Jong Un government. She also asked North Koreans to join her initiative of unifying the two countries.
She said, "South Korea and the United States will sternly counter the North's provocations using all possible measures."
Park further said that South Korea and the United States have both agreed to continue communicating with China via different channels. China's role is vital in effectively implementing sanctions on North Korea and resolving the nuclear crisis on the peninsula.
U.S. President Barack Obama claimed that the missile launches of North Korea on Monday were provocative and that his country would work with allies to reinforce sanctions on the North.
The meeting, which lasted for 50 minutes, took place shortly after Park and Obama arrived in Vientiane to take part in a series of regional summits for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The bilateral meeting was the first meeting of Park and Obama after South Korea and the United States decided to deploy a U.S. antimissile system in South Korea to retaliate nuclear and missile threats from North Korea in July.
The ASEAN summit came one day after the North fired three Rodong missiles to demonstrate its evolving missile capabilities.
Park also had meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin last week and Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday. The South Korean leader tried to explain to the two officials the need and importance of the installation of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system in South Korea.