Anchor: Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae has proposed seeking innovative approaches in addressing North Korea-related issues during a conference in Washington on Korean unification. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel, for his part, urged the North to declare it will fully implement the September 19 Joint Declaration. 
Our Bae Joo-yon has more.
 
Report: South Korea's Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae has stressed the need for dialogue and cooperation with North Korea at a conference on Korean unification at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington on Wednesday.
 
The minister said Seoul and Washington must strengthen their coordination for engagement with the North.
 
[Sound bite: Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae (English)]
“Seoul and Washington  should not be frustrated by the failure of the past and should look for innovative approaches and move forward with patience.”
 
Ryoo said Seoul and Washington need to show Pyongyang clearly what it can earn by giving up the path of provocation and isolation and choosing the path of dialogue and cooperation. He said the two allies should now explore "more creative and diverse approaches” in addressing Korean Peninsula affairs.
 
Ryoo’s proposal to seek new methods in resolving North Korea-related issues is considered to be a novel approach to U.S. government officials and experts which have shown a passive stance to engaging in dialogue with the North.
 
U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel, who also attended the conference, urged the North to declare that it will implement the September 19 Joint Declaration.
 
[Sound bite: U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs Daniel Russel (English)]
“North Korea can never achieve security and prosperity it desires while also pursuing nuclear weapons.”
 
Russel said there is mounting evidence that the China does not consider the North’s policy to pursue nuclear ambitions and economic prosperity as a workable or desirable strategy.  
Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News.