President Park Geun-hye has pressed North Korea to come to the dialogue table with South Korea and discuss projects for unification.
 
At this year's first Cabinet meeting on Tuesday, President Park responded to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's New Year's Day speech in which he expressed willingness for an inter-Korean summit.
 
The South Korean president said it's fortunate that Pyongyang has expressed an advanced position on inter-Korean talks and exchanges. She then cautioned against reading too much into the North Korean leader's remarks, noting relations between the two Koreas have gone through twists and turns in the past without reaching sustainable development. 
 
Park urged the North to come forward for dialogue and cooperation for peace on the Korean Peninsula and to make progress in specific projects to achieve unification. She said it is important for North Korea to display its sincerity toward improving cross-border ties.
 
The president also underlined that the South Korean government must lay the groundwork to overcome the pain of division and open the era of unification as the year 2015 marks the 70th anniversary of liberation and separation on the Korean Peninsula.