DPRK slams S. Korean new assistance plan

SEOUL, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- A senior official of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has slammed South Korea's proposal of economic assistance in exchange for denuclearization, the official Korean Central News Agency reported on Friday.

Kim Yo Jong, vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, released a press statement titled "Don't have an absurd dream" on Thursday, marking the DPRK's official response to South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol's Liberation Day speech.

Kim said what the speech called the "audacious initiative" is nothing new, but merely another version of former President Lee Myung-bak's policy some 10 years ago, according to the statement.

"We will not sit face to face with him (Yoon)," said Kim.

During the Monday speech, the S. Korean president said that the initiative will significantly improve the DPRK's economy and its people's livelihoods in stages if the DPRK ceases the development of its nuclear program and embarks on a genuine and substantive process for denuclearization.

According to Yoon, the plan would include assistances in fields such as food, infrastructure, as well as international investment and financial support.