The Choson Sinbo carried an article Thursday urging South Korean authorities to respond to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s expressed willingness for an inter-Korean summit.
 
The pro-North Korean newspaper based in Japan said the stalemate between the two Koreas can be broken if the South takes the golden opportunity, presented in a speech by the North’s supreme leader, to take a short cut in making a major shift in inter-Korean relations.
 
In a nationally-televised New Year's Day speech earlier in the day, the North Korean leader said there is no reason not to hold the "highest-level dialogue" between the two Koreas if conditions are ripe. He made the remark as he stressed the need for a "great turning point" in relations between the two sides.  
 
The daily added that Kim talked about inter-Korean ties and unification as important issues in his New Year’s message, noting that it is uncommon for the North’s leader to make reference to a summit between the two Koreas.
 
However, the report added that the U.S.’s attitude could become a key variable in improving inter-Korean ties. It claimed that Pyongyang’s call to alter its policies on the North, which Kim made in his New Year’s message, is a fair request and an ultimatum.