South Korean President Lee Myung Bak's new approach to dealing with the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) is "an attempt to avoid the responsibility of deteriorating the inter-Korean relations," said a commentary carried on the official Rodong Sinmun daily on Sunday.

The South Korean president on Friday proposed reopening the stalled reconciliation talks with the DPRK in an address at the opening session of the National Assembly.

Lee told lawmakers that his government was "willing to engage in serious consultations" on how to implement inter-Korean accords. He also offered to boost cross-border humanitarian aid.

It is old wine put in a new bottle, the commentary said.

It went on to say that Lee's remark that "the highest priority of my administration's North Korea policy is to ensure the denuclearization of North Korea" was a copy of his previous policy of "no nukes, opening and 3,000 dollars," which means that South Korea would help the DPRK realize a per capita national income of 3,000 U.S. dollars in 10 years after the nuclear issue is resolved and the DPRK implements an opening-up policy.

The two joint statements signed by the two countries' leaders in 2000 and 2007 were the foundation for developing inter-Korean relations, but Lee's new policy aims to play down the importance of the two statements, the commentary said.

What Lee needs to do is not playing words, but to clarify his stance on the two statements, the commentary added.

(Xinhua News Agency July 13, 2008)