ROK picks nuke, human rights as top priority for DPRK policy

The Republic of Korea (ROK)'s President Park Geun- hye on Tuesday picked nuclear and human rights issues as top priority for its policy toward the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK).

"Improving and changing the lives of DPRK people is an important aim of reunification (between the two Koreas). North Korea (DPRK)'s human rights issue is a very important issue to build up foundation for peaceful unification," Park said during a cabinet meeting.

Park said issues on the DPRK's nuclear program and its human rights "are the core agenda in our DPRK policy" to make the Korean Peninsula peaceful and happy, stressing that the ROK "should not be passive" for fear of the backlash from the DPRK.

It was very rare for a ROK president to mention the DPRK's human rights issue as Park's predecessors, mostly liberals, worried about the worsening of inter-Korean relations by speaking about it.

Park said the DPRK has recently slandered her by name, noting it indicated that the human rights issue is a sore point for the DPRK.