Minister says he hopes for positive message from N. Korea

Unification Minister Lee In-young said Monday he hopes to receive a positive message from North Korea on inter-Korean relations as Pyongyang is expected to hold a rare party congress this week.

Lee made the remarks during his online address for the new year to his ministry staff, as the North is set to convene the congress of the Workers' Party this week for the first time in over four years amid expectations that the North is to unveil its economic scheme and policy directions for the United States and South Korea.

"As we mark the first month of the year, political changes surrounding the fate of the Korean Peninsula are expected to become visible with North Korea's eighth party congress and the inauguration of the US president," Lee said.

"I look forward to a more positive message of dialogue and cooperation from North Korea," he added.

Inter-Korean relations have stalled amid a stalemate in nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang. Tensions further escalated last year after North Korea cut off inter-Korean communication lines and blew up a liaison office in anger over the sending of anti-Pyongyang leaflets into the North from the South.

He also stressed the importance for the incoming US administration to take "a more positive" approach and for the North to employ a "flexible approach" to denuclearization talks.

Nuclear talks between Washington and Pyongyang remain stalled after the 2019 summit in Hanoi between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ended without a deal.

During the upcoming party congress, the North is expected to unveil its new economic development scheme for the next five years and could also disclose its new policy line for the US and South Korea amid stalled denuclearization and frozen inter-Korean relations.

The North has not specified a date for the congress, but watchers say it could be held Monday at the earliest or in the coming days this week. (Yonhap)