President Roh Moo-hyun says that dismantling the North’s nuclear weapons and related development programs is the fundamental, final solution to all North Korean issues.

In his speech to the National Assembly read by Prime Minister Han Myeong-sook, Roh said the government would maintain its fundamental peace and prosperity policy and continue dialogue with North Korea while exercising flexibility in the speed and scope of its policies.

He criticized North Korea’s nuclear test, saying it betrayed South Korean and international longing for a nuclear-free Korean Peninsula.

The president also said inter-Korean projects at the Mount Geumgang resort and Gaesong Industrial Complex would continue in a manner consistent with U.N. Security Council Resolution 1718.

He stressed that the North Korean nuclear issue must be resolved peacefully, saying peace take precedence over all else.