Seoul-Sana
South Korea today criticized the statements of its US ambassador Harry Harris regarding its policy toward the DPRK, saying it was "totally inappropriate".
"Seoul's policy toward Pyongyang is a matter of sovereignty," South Korean news agency "Yonhap" quoted a spokesman for the Korean Unification Ministry, Lee Sang Min, as saying at a regular press conference, stressing that the trips to Pyongyang "do not violate international sanctions."
He called on the United States to respect the sovereignty of Seoul, while recalling the statements of US officials regarding this.
A spokesman for the Korean Unification Ministry reiterated that tourism is not subject to sanctions against the DPRK.
For his part, an official in the South Korean Presidential Office considered the "Blue House" today, Harris's comments and his comment on President Moon JN: "not appropriate at all," stressing that the issue of inter-Korean cooperation is "an issue that the Seoul government must decide."
The US ambassador to South Korea considered, in response to statements by President Moon J, regarding inter-Korean trips, that "the issue of allowing South Koreans to make individual tourist trips to the territory of the DPRK is subject to consultations between South Korea and the United States," warning Seoul from US sanctions.