A coalition of more than 20 South Korean civic groups called on the government Wednesday not to give up efforts to resume dialogue with North Korea.
In a statement issued at a rally at Gwanghwamun square, adjacent to the presidential office and the unification ministry, they asked the government to make another offer for high-level talks.
“We appeal to the government to take active measures to improve South-North relations,” it read.
The participating groups included Buddhist leaders and businessmen involved in inter-Korean economic cooperation projects.
They said it’s a “really painful thing” that the two Koreas have failed to hold an agreed-upon high-level meeting.
The two sides had planned to open the talks between late October and early November. But the North announced later it would not exchange any dialogue with the South unless it stops the civilian-led spread of leaflets critical of the communist nation’s leaders and system.
The South’s authorities maintain that they have no legal cause for controlling the leaflet campaign in line with the freedom of speech. (Yonhap)
