North Korea Growing More Indifferent to Inter-Korean Cooperation: "Boastful Gesture for Achievements"

"Shamelessly Making a Fuss as if Something Will Happen in Inter-Korean Relations"

North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong Un attended the completion ceremony of the Suncheon Fertilizer Factory on May 1, Labor Day, according to Korean Central TV on the 2nd. The photo shows Chairman Kim looking confident at the completion ceremony.

Despite South Korea's repeated expressions of willingness for inter-Korean cooperation, North Korea continues to respond coldly while emphasizing self-reliance.

On the 12th, the Workers' Party of Korea's official newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, published a front-page editorial titled "An Important Guarantee for Building a Socialist Power with Economic Prosperity," stating, "If a debtor does not achieve economic self-reliance, they will bow their head and kneel before others," and argued that "economic dependence inevitably leads to political dependence."

The newspaper said, "Hostile forces are desperately trying to economically strangle us," and added, "The hostile forces' schemes to prolong economic difficulties, create internal chaos, and halt our march toward a socialist power will continue."

It then proposed localization and resource recycling projects as solutions, emphasizing "economic development driven by our own strength." The newspaper stated, "With others' things or assistance, only temporary growth or flashy transformation can be achieved, but sustainable and planned development cannot be expected."

Additionally, through external propaganda media, it continued to criticize inter-Korean cooperation.

On the same day, the publication Meori claimed in an article titled "Deceptive Popular Sentiment and Boasting," "In the past, the South Korean authorities worsened the situation by engaging in pro-American subservience and confrontation with their own people, yet now shamelessly make a fuss as if they have accomplished something in inter-Korean relations, trying to attract public attention and opinion."

This is interpreted as criticism of the "independent cooperation between the South and the North" emphasized by the government this year. The media stressed, "Their clever words without any remorse or reflection for driving inter-Korean relations to ruin through pro-American subservience and confrontation with their own people are nothing but thorough deception of popular sentiment and boasting."

Earlier, on the 3rd, President Moon Jae-in said in his "Special Speech on the 3rd Anniversary of Inauguration," "Now, instead of only looking at North Korea-US talks, let's find and do what can be done between the South and the North."

He also suggested inter-Korean quarantine cooperation as a measure, noting, "Both the South and the North are making great efforts to respond to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19)," and emphasized that existing proposals such as inter-Korean railway and road connection projects, the demilitarized zone (DMZ) international peace zone, and individual tourism to North Korea are all still valid.

While North Korea shows no sign of responding to inter-Korean cooperation, it is gradually increasing contact with China and Russia. On the 7th, Chairman Kim Jong-un sent a verbal letter to Chinese President Xi Jinping praising him for "firmly gaining the upper hand in the unprecedented war against the epidemic." The next day, he also sent a congratulatory message to Russian President Vladimir Putin on the occasion of the Victory Day of World War II.

This is seen as a calculated move to obtain economic support from traditional allies sharing borders. Patricia Kim, a senior researcher at the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), said in an interview with Radio Free Asia (RFA) on the 11th, "North Korea wants to show that it still maintains good relations with China and Russia, the major powers that continuously support the Kim Jong-un regime at relatively low cost," adding, "The fact that North Korea does not reach out to Seoul and Washington shows that, at least in the short term, it is not interested in advancing diplomatic talks, especially nuclear negotiations."

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