The South Korean president, Lee Myung-bak, offered Monday to cooperate with North Korea to begin a "new era" of relations between the two countries, a day after Pyongyang had said it would defend its new leader, Kim Jong Un, to the death.
"The most important goal for the country is peace and stability on the Korean peninsula," Lee said in his New Year's address to the nation. He called the transitional period following the North Korean leader Kim Jong Il's death "a window of opportunity."
The president said in a live televised broadcast that the South is prepared to offer economic aid to the North, if Pyongyang is willing to give up its nuclear program. But he emphasized that Seoul will keep up its guard against any aggression from its unpredictable neighbor.
Lee's remarks may fall on deaf ears in Pyongyang, which has recently directed a barrage of invective at his government.