S KOREA'S PRES VOWS NON-POLITICAL APPROACH TO NORTH KOREA.

SEOUL, Jan 1 Asia Pulse - South Korean president Lee Myung-bak on Wednesday pledged to take a long-term, non-political approach to strained relations with North Korea and map out fundamental strategies to promote peaceful coexistence and co-prosperity on the Korean Peninsula.

Meeting with top officials of the foreign, unification and defense ministries over their key policy plans for 2009, Lee said that his government would further reinforce its energy and resource diplomacy and make greater preparations for global climate change by deploying more private experts to its overseas embassies.

"Inter-Korean relations underwent a period of readjustment over the past year, as we have consistently held fast to principles. We're still determined to build a solid inter-Korean relationship, instead of making any hasty move," Lee was quoted by his spokesman as saying.

"A short-sighted judgment is not desirable. I'll approach the North Korea problems from a long-term perspective. I will never use inter-Korean relations for political purposes. We need to devise fundamental strategies for inter-Korean coexistence and co-prosperity."

In the foreign affairs field, the president again emphasized the need to beef up diplomatic efforts in the fields of energy and resources and climate change.

"Overseas ambassadors have an important role to play, as far as energy and resource diplomacy and preparations for climate change are concerned. More private-sector experts should be sent to the nation's embassies worldwide," the president was quoted as saying.

Lee instructed defense ministry officials to make efforts to promote communications between young conscripted soldiers and ranking officers.