S. Korea plays down thaw with North
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South Korea's pointman on North Korea on Wednesday played down expectations of any imminent turnaround in inter-Korean relations following a recent flurry of movement on cross-border projects.
"There is no quick solution to a lot of pending issues. We will have to solve them gradually, step by step," Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-Jae told a press briefing.
After months of sustained military tensions that followed North Korea's military test in February, Seoul and Pyongyang have started talking again -- and with some signs of progress.
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Last week they agreed to work together to reopen their shuttered Kaesong joint industrial complex, and to talk about resuming reunions for families separated during the 1950-53 Korean War.
The North has also suggested discussions on restarting South Korean tours to its Mount Kumgang resort.
The sudden burst of to-and-fro activity has raised hopes of a genuine thaw, but Ryoo stressed that nothing had been settled with the projects under discussion.
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"We are really just on our marks with the agreement on Kaesong," he said.
The two sides have yet to agree on a venue for the talks -- initially scheduled for Friday -- between their respective Red Cross groups on the family reunions, and the South has made it clear that a meeting about trips to Mount Kumgang will have to wait a while.
"We would like to address pending issues one by one," Ryoo said, adding that South Korea had no intention of lowering its military guard in the meantime.
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"There will be a resolute response to any provocation," he said.
South Korean President Park Geun-Hye has insisted there can be no substantial discussions on strategic issues unless the North makes a credible commitment to abandoning its nuclear weapons programme.