President Park Geun-hye recently gave interviews to two leading international media outlets in which she expressed her views on inter-Korean relations and unification on the Korean Peninsula.
Regarding the issue of unification, President Park said, “Unification would allow the Korean economy to make a considerable leap forward and it would inject into our economy great vitality and energy,” in the interview with Bloomberg titled, “Park Extols Korea Bonanza with a North-South Unification,” published on January 13.
In another interview aired by CNN on January 14, she said, “I’m of course open to meeting with him [the North Korean leader],” in order to improve inter-Korean relations and to enhance peace across the region.
In the Bloomberg interview, President Park said that her administration will work ceaselessly to promote more widely the shared recognition that unification must take place. “There is no knowing when unification will actually take place, but we will do our best to hasten that day’s coming,” she added. Bloomberg mentioned her approval rating which was at 53 percent on January 10, according to a Gallup Korea poll. The Bloomberg article said, “President Park’s handling of North Korea and other foreign-policy challenges has helped sustain her approval rating since taking office.”
The article mentioned the agreement on the normalization of the Gaeseong (Kaesong) Industrial Complex reached by the two sides last August and said, “Park refused to surrender to ultimatums from North Korea and secured an accord in August to reopen the site with the North agreeing never to shutter it again for political reasons.” Pyongyang pulled out all of its 53,000 workers last April from the inter-Korean factory site located in the North Korean border city of Gaeseong as tensions were escalating in the aftermath of its February 2013 nuclear test.
In regard to volatility on the Korean Peninsula and across Northeast Asia, the president told CNN that, “It is time we put priority on a robust national security platform and make sure we can safeguard the well-being of the Korean people.” In this respect she also emphasized close cooperation with neighboring countries, such as the United States and China. Regarding the possibility of more provocations from Pyongyang, she clearly said that, “any provocation will be met very firmly,” while stressing the importance of, “having thorough preparation for every eventuality.”
In regard to the Korean economy, Bloomberg mentioned an, “online ecosystem,” also known as the “Creative Economy Town,” which her administration recently set up to promote the fusion of new ideas with information communications and other technology. The article further talked about the president’s “three-year economic innovation plan” designed to raise Korea’s potential growth rate by four percentage points, and mentioned the Korean finance ministry’s prediction that GDP growth will reach 3.9 percent this year.
By Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
arete@korea.kr
Regarding the issue of unification, President Park said, “Unification would allow the Korean economy to make a considerable leap forward and it would inject into our economy great vitality and energy,” in the interview with Bloomberg titled, “Park Extols Korea Bonanza with a North-South Unification,” published on January 13.
In another interview aired by CNN on January 14, she said, “I’m of course open to meeting with him [the North Korean leader],” in order to improve inter-Korean relations and to enhance peace across the region.
President Park Geun-hye (left) holds an interview with Bloomberg at Cheong Wa Dae on January 10. (Photo: Cheong Wa Dae)
President Park Geun-hye (left) holds an interview with CNN at Cheong Wa Dae on January 13. (Photo: Cheong Wa Dae)
In the Bloomberg interview, President Park said that her administration will work ceaselessly to promote more widely the shared recognition that unification must take place. “There is no knowing when unification will actually take place, but we will do our best to hasten that day’s coming,” she added. Bloomberg mentioned her approval rating which was at 53 percent on January 10, according to a Gallup Korea poll. The Bloomberg article said, “President Park’s handling of North Korea and other foreign-policy challenges has helped sustain her approval rating since taking office.”
The article mentioned the agreement on the normalization of the Gaeseong (Kaesong) Industrial Complex reached by the two sides last August and said, “Park refused to surrender to ultimatums from North Korea and secured an accord in August to reopen the site with the North agreeing never to shutter it again for political reasons.” Pyongyang pulled out all of its 53,000 workers last April from the inter-Korean factory site located in the North Korean border city of Gaeseong as tensions were escalating in the aftermath of its February 2013 nuclear test.
In regard to volatility on the Korean Peninsula and across Northeast Asia, the president told CNN that, “It is time we put priority on a robust national security platform and make sure we can safeguard the well-being of the Korean people.” In this respect she also emphasized close cooperation with neighboring countries, such as the United States and China. Regarding the possibility of more provocations from Pyongyang, she clearly said that, “any provocation will be met very firmly,” while stressing the importance of, “having thorough preparation for every eventuality.”
In regard to the Korean economy, Bloomberg mentioned an, “online ecosystem,” also known as the “Creative Economy Town,” which her administration recently set up to promote the fusion of new ideas with information communications and other technology. The article further talked about the president’s “three-year economic innovation plan” designed to raise Korea’s potential growth rate by four percentage points, and mentioned the Korean finance ministry’s prediction that GDP growth will reach 3.9 percent this year.
By Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
arete@korea.kr
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