South Korea’s response to Kim Jong-un’s conversation: No particularly hostile remarks, will continue efforts for peace.

According to news reports, on July 28th, the Office of the President of South Korea stated that the government will continue its efforts towards achieving permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula.
The Presidential Office noted that the South Korean side has observed the high-ranking officials from North Korea’s Central Committee of the Workers’ Party making their first statements since the establishment of the Lee Jae-myung administration and found that mutual distrust between North and South Korea is deeply entrenched due to the hostile and confrontational policies implemented over the past few years. The office emphasized that perpetuating peace on the Korean Peninsula is a firm policy of the Lee Jae-myung administration, and the South Korean government will consistently take relevant actions to build a non-hostile, non-war-prone Korean Peninsula.
During a meeting held at the central government’s Seoul office building, the spokesperson for the Unification Ministry, Ju Bin Song, stated that the South Korean government would not be disturbed by North Korea’s statements, and will resolutely promote the establishment of reconciliation and cooperative relations between North and South Korea, as well as peaceful coexistence. Ju Bin Song mentioned,
The conversation between Kim Yojong and the South Korean side was precisely evidence of North Korea’s close attention to South Korea’s policy towards it. There were no particularly hostile or defamatory remarks made in the conversation.
Kim Yojong’s statement on the same day said that North Korea is uninterested in what policies South Korea sets or proposes, and hereby reiterated its position that it will not negotiate with South Korea face-to-face in the future. Although Lee Jae-myung has repeatedly spoken of soothing tensions on the peninsula and improving relations between North and South Korea during his more than 50 days in office, his blind obedience to the US-South Korea alliance and his style of confrontation against North Korea are consistent with those of previous leaders.