North Korea Strongly Criticizes Minister Kim Yeon-chul... Ministry of Unification Calls for "Mutual Respect and Trust"

North Korean Propaganda Media Criticizes 'Jamkkodae' and 'Hatbaji'
Unification Ministry: "Not an Official North Korean Position"
"Will Not Respond to Every North Korean Propaganda"

Kim Yeon-cheol, Minister of Unification

Regarding North Korea's explicit criticism of Minister of Unification Kim Yeon-cheol through its external propaganda media, the Ministry of Unification stated on the 8th that "inter-Korean relations must be pursued based on mutual respect and trust."

Lee Sang-min, spokesperson for the Ministry of Unification, said at a regular briefing held at the Government Seoul Office Building on the same day, "(The criticism of Minister Kim) came from North Korea's propaganda media and is not an official position of North Korea, so the government does not need to respond to each remark individually," adding this.

Recently, the government has announced plans to promote various inter-Korean cooperation projects to advance inter-Korean relations and has also undertaken organizational restructuring. However, North Korea has been fiercely criticizing the South with harsh expressions such as "sleep-talking," "delusions of grandeur," and "somnambulism."

North Korea's external propaganda media, Meori, on the 8th, in an article titled "Product Advertisement in a Closed Store," criticized the Ministry of Unification, saying, "The Ministry of Unification, which has been receiving public backlash in South Korea as a 'closed business institution' and a 'free rider who cannot even pay for meals,' has recently become extremely strange," condemning the Ministry's declared intention to actively promote inter-Korean projects this year.

On the 7th, another propaganda media outlet, Uri Minjokkkiri TV, also criticized Minister Kim Yeon-cheol by name. In a video titled "Empty Hands and Empty Words," the outlet claimed, "The South Korean Minister of Unification, who spent the past year idly wasting time, is now emphasizing a new way of thinking in inter-Korean relations in the new year, but this is receiving harsh criticism from public opinion as the sleep-talking ramblings of a shameless and senseless minister."

Minister Kim, in his New Year's address this year, assessed that the inter-Korean situation does not look bright for the time being and said, "A bold and innovative 'new way of thinking' is necessary," which was the target of this criticism.

North Korea also directly attacked President Moon Jae-in's New Year's address. Meori stated on the 7th, "The self-serving self-praise and delusional content consistently found in the 'North Korea policy' advertisement game are utterly disgusting to hear."

However, it is noteworthy that such criticism toward the South is reported only through external propaganda media, while it does not appear in the Rodong Sinmun or the state-run Korean Central News Agency, which are read by the North Korean public. The last time the Korean Central News Agency directly criticized the South Korean government was on November 21 of last year.

North Korea omitted any message toward the South in the report of the Party plenary meeting, which replaced this year's New Year's address. Therefore, there is speculation that North Korea may issue a message toward the South during the government, political party, and organization joint meeting expected around the end of this month, leaving some room for inter-Korean relations.

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