South Korea's foreign ministry said on Wednesday that it will place its focus on talks for the denuclearized Korean Peninsula after the end of the 23rd Winter Olympics, which are going on in the country's east county of PyeongChang.
According to the ministry report submitted to the National Assembly, South Korea will focus its diplomatic efforts at a dialogue momentum, created by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK)'s participation in the Winter Olympics, leading to the peaceful settlement of the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula.
South Korea will stably manage situations after the end of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics to create conditions for continued dialogue based on a firm alliance with the United States, while seeking dialogue to resolve the nuclear issue, the report said.
The DPRK sent athletes, cheerleaders, and a high-ranking delegation to the South Korea-hosted winter sports event, boosting hopes for a thaw in ties between the two Koreas.
The high-ranking DPRK delegation, which included Kim Yo Jong, a younger sister of top DPRK leader Kim Jong Un, attended the opening ceremony of the Winter Olympics earlier this month and met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
During the meeting with Moon, the younger Kim delivered the DPRK leader's invitation to the South Korean leader to visit Pyongyang at his convenient time.
In response, Moon said the two Koreas should create conditions to make it happen, asking the DPRK side to more actively seek dialogue with the United States.
The foreign ministry report said South Korea will continue efforts at the resumption of dialogue between Pyongyang and Washington.
During a telephone conversation in January, President Moon and U.S. President Donald Trump shared a possibility for the ongoing inter-Korean talks naturally leading to talks between the DPRK and the United States.
Since the DPRK leader showed his willingness to improve ties with South Korea in his New Year's address, the high-level inter-Korean dialogue, the first in over two years, was held on Jan. 9 in the truce village of Panmunjom.
The foreign ministry said South Korea will cooperate with the international community to make the DPRK recognize that if it makes a right choice, a bright future will be offered.
South Korea will seek the resumption of an effective dialogue for the denuclearization, pursuing a virtuous cycle of talks between South Korea and the DPRK and between the DPRK and the United States, according to the ministry report.
The report said Seoul will push to achieve an international support for the virtuous cycle of improved inter-Korean relations and the peaceful solution of the nuclear issue on the peninsula, while pushing for the real entrance to a dialogue mood centered on talks between Seoul and Pyongyang and between Pyongyang and Washington.
Meanwhile, the report noted that if the DPRK continues its nuclear development, South Korea will join international sanctions and pressure toward Pyongyang.
As long as the DPRK continues the development of its nuclear program, South Korea will join sanctions and pressure by the international community to encourage Pyongyang to change its course, according to the report.
The report said South Korea will thoroughly implement existing UN Security Council resolutions on the DPRK, while pushing to enhance ties with the DPRK after the end of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games scheduled to run by March 18.
Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told the parliamentary foreign affairs committee that there was a possibility for the United States to impose fresh unilateral sanctions on the DPRK after the end of the Winter Olympics.
Kang noted that the United States has been reviewing the unilateral sanctions in a bid to pressure Pyongyang, adding that Seoul and Washington have always been discussing issues on the DPRK.
