South Korean Unification Ministry spokesman Lee Duk-haeng told reporters the government's most basic stance is that communication lines between South and North Korea should reopen. North Korea and the rich, democratic South are technically still at war because their 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty. Moon's envoy to the United States, South Korean media mogul Hong Seok-hyun, left for Washington on Wednesday. US President Donald Trump has said he wants South Korea to pay for the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) anti-missile system which detected Sunday's test launch. The US troop presence in South Korea, a legacy of the Korean War, is primarily to guard against the North Korean threat.

Source: bd News24 May 17, 2017 04:07 UTC