North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stressed the need to improve ties with South Korea on Wednesday in his New Year’s message.
 
In the live address carried by North Korean state media, Kim said the mood has to be set to better South-North relations. He added the time has come to end destructive slander and defamation and stop hampering efforts toward compromise and unity.
 
Kim said the North will support anyone who cares about the people and wants unification, and he vowed to work toward improving relations between Seoul and Pyongyang.
 
He also said South Korean authorities should work to strengthen inter-Korean relations.
 
Given Kim’s latest remarks, the North is likely to hold meetings early this year to devise South Korea policies and actively seek South-North dialogue in 2014.
 
Concerning Korean Peninsula tensions, Kim denounced joint South Korea-U.S. military exercises, saying South Korean and U.S. pro-war forces are staging nuclear war drills. 
 
Kim said the drills are creating a dangerous atmosphere on the peninsula where accidental military clashes could lead to an all-out war. He added if war breaks out on the peninsula, a deadly nuclear catastrophe could be the result.
 
Kim did not mention the North’s nuclear issue or the North’s relations with the U.S. in his message.