The New Nation - Internet Edition

Reuters, Seoul

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on Tuesday urged North Korea to start standing on its own feet, stop relying on handouts and get ready for unification.

North Korea, its economy drained by the cost of supporting one of the world's largest standing armies, has for years depended on shipments of food from the South.

"We want North Korea to stand on its own feet quickly and not have to take handouts from other countries. (We want) a country that's a little bit better off," Lee, a former business executive who took office late last month, told foreign ministry officials. The conservative leader has promised to help lift North Korea out of abject poverty on condition the reclusive communist neighbor abandons nuclear weapons and opens up its economy. Lee called for more rigorous attempts to engage the North in serious dialogue to convince Pyongyang to commit to change.

"We have no desire whatsoever to set back reconciliation between the South and the North by confronting the North," Lee said, according to a text provided by his office.

Estimates in the South put North Korea's annual per capita income as low as $400, making it one of the world's poorest countries.

Many in the South fear the cost of unification with the impoverished North, which has been ruled by cult personality for the past 60 years, would shatter their own economy, the world's 13th-largest.