Hanoi 1st Anniversary Silence from North Korea... Instead, Criticizes South Korea for "Presumptuously Calling Itself a Mediator"

Emphasizing "Self-Reliance and Direct Breakthrough" Without Mentioning North Korea-US Dialogue
Instead, Mocking South Korea with "You'll Be Greatly Embarrassed If You Get Caught Between North Korea and the US"

North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un (right) is seen talking with U.S. President Donald Trump at the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi, Vietnam, on February 27 last year.

Last year, the second North Korea-U.S. summit held in Hanoi, Vietnam at the end of February marked its first anniversary on the 27th, but North Korean state media remained silent without releasing any related reports. Instead, they emphasized 'self-reliance' and 'frontal breakthrough' to the residents, while repeatedly criticizing South Korea through external propaganda media.

On the 27th, the Rodong Sinmun, the official newspaper of the Workers' Party of Korea, published a front-page editorial titled "Let the Party Organizations Vigorously Demonstrate Their Combat Power in the Frontal Breakthrough," stating, "The challenges from hostile forces opposing the vigorous advance of our revolution are persistent, and the trials and difficulties we face are not trivial," and urged, "Let us crush all challenges with the power of self-reliance and create a breakthrough for the advance."

Additionally, the newspaper emphasized the 'Baekdu Mountain Spirit' to induce ideological unity, reporting that "workers of the Standing Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly, who are touring the revolutionary sites in the Baekdu Mountain area, climbed the sacred revolutionary mountain Baekdu on the 26th."

On the other hand, there were no articles or commentaries related to the Hanoi North Korea-U.S. summit. This appears to reflect a cold evaluation of the Hanoi summit, which ended in a 'no deal,' and the disappearance of expectations for North Korea-U.S. dialogue.

This contrasts with the first anniversary of the Singapore North Korea-U.S. summit on June 12 last year, when the two leaders exchanged surprise letters that boosted momentum for denuclearization negotiations.

It is also reported that North Korea issued commemorative stamps for the Singapore summit's first anniversary. These moves can be interpreted as North Korea still having the will to resume North Korea-U.S. talks and even hold a third summit, despite the 'no deal shock' four months earlier.

On the first anniversary of Hanoi, North Korea omitted external messages, strengthened internal unity messages, but continued to criticize South Korea.

On the same day, the external propaganda media 'Meari' published an article titled "Only Greater Humiliation Awaits Those Who Recklessly Rush In Without Knowing the World," claiming, "At one time, the South Korean authorities foolishly tried to meddle in North Korea-U.S. relations, calling themselves 'mediators' or 'drivers of the Korean Peninsula,' but ended up losing face without gaining anything, as everyone knows... Yet they still have not come to their senses and are foolishly trying to poke their heads in, talking about 'resuming North Korea-U.S. talks'."

The media added, "Watching the South Korean authorities play around like this, it is no exaggeration to call them politically immature or weaklings," and warned, "No matter how much the South Korean authorities try to insert themselves between North Korea and the U.S., they should remember that only greater humiliation awaits them."

North Korean media also criticized President Moon Jae-in, who is pushing for normalization of South Korea-Japan relations.

Another anti-South propaganda media, 'Uri Minjokkkiri,' in a personal byline article on the same day, called President Moon's positive stance on improving relations with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, expressed during a meeting with newly appointed Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Domita Koji earlier this month, a "disgusting disgrace." The media referred to President Moon as the "South Korean ruler" and claimed he "begged" for a meeting with Prime Minister Abe.

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