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Amid Missile Tension, SKorea President Urges Talks
In a surprise change of tone, South Korean President Park Geun-hye offered to open talks with North Korea in an effort to calm down the heated tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
"We must activate the trust process of Korean Peninsula," the president said at a dinner meeting with lawmakers of the National Assembly's committee in charge of foreign policy and unification affairs. "We will engage in talks." In the past she has maintained that no talks could take place unless the North gave up its nuclear program, which is also the U.S. line.
The president said South Korea and the U.S. have held the "same policies with one voice" in line with the spirit of "strongest allies" especially when it comes to dealing with the North.
But sources close to the presidential office in Seoul are concerned that Thursday's "olive branch" was made without consulting with the U.S.
Secretary of State John Kerry is headed to Seoul on Friday for talks with South Korean officials on the tensions.
"Talk or no talk, the problem is that the sudden softness might come as a surprise to the secretary (Kerry) who's already on his way," said Ken Choi, a senior editor at South Korea's Chosun Ilbo newspaper. "This could send a wrong message to North Korea, as if there's a rift between the two allies."
Kerry has just wrapped up a foreign ministers' G-8 meeting in London at which they condemned North Korea's aggressive rhetoric and the development of its nuclear missile programs, saying that Pyongyang's recent actions threaten international security.
"G-8 foreign ministers condemned in the strongest possible terms the continued development of its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programs by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea," the ministers said in a statement.
"Even if the situation is difficult, the 'process' of trust on Korean Peninsula must continue," said the South Korea president. Earlier she also encouraged the latest medical aid shipped to North Korea by a private South Korean organization. "The humanitarian aid to North Korea will continue," she said.
Also on Thursday, South Korean Minister of Unification held a press conference encouraging North Korea to come out and talk about what they want.
"It's gone too far. We all needed an outlet that could drop the level of tensions. Good move," said Kim Yong-hyun, Professor of North Korean Studies at Dongkuk University in Seoul.
The South's Unification Minister Ryoo Kihl-jae urged Pyongyang to cool down, engage in dialogue and reverse its decision to suspend operations of a joint industrial park just north of their shared border.
"We strongly urge North Korea not to exacerbate the crisis on the Korean peninsula," Ryoo said.
South Korea Bracing for North Korean Missile Test Watch VideoNorth Korea Prepares to Launch Missile Watch VideoSurveillance has shown that Pyongyang is ready to launch its untested mid-range Musudan missile anytime soon, putting armed forces in Seoul and Tokyo together with American troops in Northeast Asia on high alert.North Korea's Possible Missile Test Has South on High Alert Watch Video
South Korea's Defense Ministry confirmed Seoul has deployed three naval destroyers, an early warning surveillance aircraft and a land-based radar system.
RELATED: South Korea Bracing for North Korean Missile Test 'Anytime Soon'
The U.S. now has sea-based radars to track just-launched missiles. The SBX radar that looks like a large golf-ball mounted on a floating oil rig "has been deployed to the Pacific for an operational missile defense mission. It's up and running and active," a U.S. official told ABC News.
In Tokyo, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reassured citizens the government had stepped up intelligence gathering efforts, amid growing signs of a ballistic missile launch.
Kyodo News, citing an unnamed defense official, reported the missile launcher in North Korea had moved into firing position with its rockets facing upward in a "raised position." Chief Government Spokesman Yoshihide Suga refused to address the report at his daily press briefing, only saying "there are various moves."
"It is extremely regrettable that North Korea has repeated provocative acts against the international community that we can say are at unforgivable levels," Abe said, according to Kyodo.
Patriot missile batteries remained parked at Defense Ministry headquarters in Tokyo, ready to shoot down any missile that threatened Japan. Nearby at the Ichigaya train station, it was business as usual, though commuters quietly expressed unease about tensions on the Korean peninsula.
"We are amateurs. We have no idea how accurate those missiles are, so I can't help but worry," said Hyuga Tsuchiya, a high school student.
Tsuchiya added, he was concerned about Japan's ability to respond to a potential strike, saying he did not believe the country's Self Defense Forces were properly equipped, militarily.
"They are right there, on the other side of the Sea of Japan," said Setsuko Fukuhara. "Our lives seem so normal inside [Japan], but there are a lot of problems lurking close by. It's really scary."
In a sign of increasing jitters, an air traffic control center in Fukuoka erroneously sent out a nationwide alert Thursday afternoon, saying North Korea had launched a ballistic missile, according to NHK. The message prompted airports to warn pilots nearby to "be aware" of a missile, though the mistake was corrected minutes later. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, which oversees the center told NHK, there have been no reports of the false alarm affecting flights, so far.
Yesterday, a false tweet posted to the account of Yokohama's disaster management office, sent officials scrambling. The tweet, sent out to 39,000 plus followers, said "North Korea has launched a ballistic missile," and stayed up for 20 minutes before employees deleted it. Officials were forced to issue a public apology.
Inside Pyongyang, though, the mood was festive ahead of its founder Kim Il-sung's 101th birthday April 15. Its state television reported congratulatory foreign delegations arriving in Pyongyang, a twist after they warned all foreigners in both North and South Korea to evacuate because they could not guarantee safety in case of an imminent war that the United States and South Korea are to be blamed for.
Foreign diplomats stationed in Pyongyang described the situation there as "normal" despite the North Korean government ratcheting up its threats against South Korea and the United States.
RELATED: North Korea Warns Foreigners to Get Out
Of the nearly two dozen embassies in Pyongyang contacted by ABC News, only 11 answered the phone and most of them declined to comment, citing instructions from their governments not to speak with reporters amid heightened diplomatic sensitivities.
COPY http://abcnews.go.com
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