North Korea's "South Korea Delusions" Statement Followed by Government's "Efforts for Kim Jong-un's Visit"

President Moon "Efforts to Connect Geumgangsan and Inter-Korean Railroads"
Willingness to Promote North Korea-US Relations Through Inter-Korean Progress
Ministry of Unification Expands Exchange and Cooperation Functions
North Korea Openly Ignores South Korea... Response Uncertain

On the 7th, citizens are watching President Moon Jae-in's New Year's address in the waiting room of Seoul Station. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

President Moon Jae-in announced in his New Year's address on the 7th that he would promote various exchange and cooperation projects to create an environment for North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un's reciprocal visit. The Ministry of Unification, the main government agency in charge of North Korea, decided to carry out a large-scale organizational restructuring, including upgrading the Exchange and Cooperation Bureau, which handles inter-Korean civilian exchanges, to an office.

In his New Year's address delivered at the Blue House on the morning of the 7th, President Moon said, "I hope that North and South Korea will work together to quickly create the conditions for Leader Kim's reciprocal visit, including joint events to strengthen the will for peaceful reunification."

President Moon emphasized, "Amid the deadlock in North Korea-U.S. talks and concerns about setbacks in inter-Korean relations, it has become even more urgent to seek practical ways to further promote inter-Korean cooperation while striving for the success of North Korea-U.S. talks."

This is interpreted as a strong will to drive the stalled North Korea-U.S. relations through progress in inter-Korean relations.

To this end, President Moon first proposed cooperation in border areas between North and South Korea. He said, "Let us start cooperation in the border areas for the joint safety of 80 million Koreans," adding, "I believe Leader Kim Jong-un shares the same will."

President Moon also requested North Korea's participation in the joint hosting of the 2032 Olympics, joint entrance and unified team formation talks for this summer's Tokyo Olympics, and the East Asian Weightlifting Championships and World Table Tennis Championships to be held in South Korea this year.

He further stated, "If North and South Korea can find practical ways to realize railway and road connection projects, it could lead to international cooperation and greatly support the resumption of tourism between the two Koreas and the revitalization of tourism in North Korea."

President Moon also emphasized, "Efforts to resume the Kaesong Industrial Complex and Mount Kumgang tourism will continue." In addition, he proposed the joint registration of the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) as a UNESCO World Heritage site.

North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un presided over the 5th Plenary Meeting of the 7th Central Committee of the Workers' Party at the Central Committee Headquarters on the 31st of last month, according to a report by the Korean Central News Agency on the 1st.

In line with this strategy, the Ministry of Unification undertook a major organizational restructuring. The Ministry announced that it would expand the existing Exchange and Cooperation Bureau to the Exchange and Cooperation Office to support the implementation of inter-Korean agreements and the realization of a peace economy through diversified exchanges and cooperation.

The Exchange and Cooperation Office will include a director-level Exchange and Cooperation Policy Officer and three newly established divisions: Social and Cultural Exchange Operations, Inter-Korean Border Cooperation, and Exchange Support. The Ministry explained that the Inter-Korean Border Cooperation Division is intended to promote various cooperative projects for the peaceful use of the DMZ, such as the international peace zone proposed by the President.

However, it remains uncertain how much North Korea will respond to this government strategy. Since the Hanoi North Korea-U.S. summit in February last year, North Korea has been intensifying its criticism of South Korea, and at the year-end Workers' Party plenary meeting, it completely ignored inter-Korean relations without a single mention, showing total disregard for the South.

North Korean propaganda media criticized President Moon's article on the Korean Peninsula peace initiative published in December last year as "nonsense" on the 6th. Rodong Sinmun referred to President Moon as a "South Korean authority" and said, "Instead of spouting self-serving nonsense, it would be better to face reality squarely and stop making shameful remarks."

On the same day, another propaganda outlet, Voice of Korea, published an article titled "Could it be suffering from megalomania?" stating, "Considering that the South continues to talk about 'mediation' despite being in a position where it can do nothing but rely on the U.S., one wonders if the South is suffering from megalomania," and warned, "While it is their freedom to have delusions and absurd dreams, trying to recklessly implement them in reality can bring misfortune."

The report on the North Korean Workers' Party plenary meeting, released on the first day of the new year and consisting of about 18,000 characters, did not mention the term 'inter-Korean relations' even once. This contrasts with the New Year's address last year, where 'inter-Korean relations' was mentioned ten times.

The National Security Strategy Institute, a research institute under the National Intelligence Service, analyzed this as "because inter-Korean relations are not seen as a major variable in the current situation."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.