SEOUL, Aug. 1 (Yonhap) -- The following is a summary of inter-Korean news this week.
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S. Korea vows to consistently take actions for peace after N. Korea rejects Lee's overture
SEOUL -- The presidential office said Monday it will consistently take necessary actions to promote peace on the Korean Peninsula after North Korea rejected President Lee Jae Myung's proposal to resume dialogue.
Earlier in the day, Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, said North Korea is not interested in any policy or proposal from South Korea and will not sit down with Seoul for talks.
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Lee stresses importance of restoring trust with N. Korea after Pyongyang snubs dialogue overture
SEOUL -- President Lee Jae Myung on Monday stressed the importance of restoring trust with North Korea by fostering a peaceful atmosphere, hours after Pyongyang flatly rejected his offer for dialogue with the North.
Lee made the remark while presenting a letter of appointment to the new Unification Minister Chung Dong-young, according to presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung.
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Seoul urges N. Korea to respond to plan to repatriate remains of national found in South
SEOUL -- South Korea on Tuesday called on North Korea to respond to its plan to repatriate the remains of a North Korean national found on the southern side of the inter-Korean maritime border.
The remains of the body believed to be those of a North Korean national were found on the shore of Seongmodo, an island in the Yellow Sea near the border, on June 21, Koo Byoung-sam, spokesperson at the unification ministry, said.
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Assembly Speaker Woo calls for dialogue channels with N. Korea to stay open
GENEVA, Switzerland -- National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik said Wednesday that communication channels between South and North Korea should be kept open even as inter-Korean relations have been frayed.
Woo's remark came two days after Kim Yo-jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, issued a statement rejecting South Korea's outreach for talks at a time when President Lee Jae Myung has been seeking to resume inter-Korean dialogue to ease military tension and improve ties.
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Kim Yo-jong's remarks suggest N. Korea sees it has strategic advantage in nuclear diplomacy: spy agency
SEOUL -- Recent statements by the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un suggest that the regime believes it holds a strategic advantage in its stalled nuclear diplomacy with the United States and inter-Korean engagement, South Korea's spy agency reportedly told lawmakers Wednesday.
The National Intelligence Service (NIS) shared its assessment on the remarks made by Kim Yo-jong, vice department director of the ruling party's Central Committee, citing the North's enhanced nuclear capabilities and its growing military ties with Russia, according to Rep. Lee Seong-kweun of the main opposition People Power Party.
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N. Korean assembly chief claims U.S., S. Korea preparing to 'actualize' nuclear war
GENEVA -- The head of North Korea's legislative body on Wednesday accused the United States and South Korea of preparing to "actualize" a nuclear war, insisting that its nuclear development is a self-defense measure vital to ensuring its security against such threats.
Pak In-chol, chairman of the North's Supreme People's Assembly, made such a claim during a United Nations-led gathering of top legislators around the world in Switzerland, blaming the U.S. and other Western countries for causing "instability and chaos" to maintain their "hegemonic position."
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N. Korean man who crossed border in early July expresses wish to defect to South: official
SEOUL -- A North Korean man who crossed the inter-Korean border into South Korea in early July has expressed his wish to defect to the South, the unification ministry said Thursday.
South Korean troops secured the man on the night of July 3 in the mid-western part of the Demilitarized Zone separating the two Koreas after he crossed the heavily fortified Demarcation Line.
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