North Korea Targets President Moon with "Moon Talk"

"Harsh Criticism of the 'Inter-Korean and North Korea-US Virtuous Cycle Strategy'... 'The Height of Ignorance and Incompetence'"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

North Korea criticized the South Korean government's response to anti-North leaflets and also fiercely condemned President Moon Jae-in's 'South-North and North-US virtuous cycle strategy' as a 'moon talk.'

North Korea's external propaganda outlet Uri Minjokkkiri stated in an article titled 'Moon Talk' that President Moon, since the beginning of his administration, has emphasized a 'virtuous cycle' of improving inter-Korean relations and advancing North-US dialogue, and remarked, "If one were to pick the phrase most frequently uttered by the South Korean ruler since the inter-Korean agreement, it would probably be the 'virtuous cycle' talk."

Although the article did not mention President Moon's name directly, it clearly identified him as the target of criticism by using the term 'South Korean ruler.'

The outlet claimed, "South Korean authorities interpret the virtuous cycle as mutually complementing and promoting inter-Korean and North-US relations, which sounds plausible, but in practice, inter-Korean relations cannot get ahead of North-US relations, and if North-US relations worsen, inter-Korean relations inevitably suffer as well."

It continued, "Until now, the South Korean authorities have reported every single development in inter-Korean relations to the United States and have been unable to act without US approval, wasting precious time," adding, "This is common sense a 'vicious cycle,' so how can it be a 'virtuous cycle'?"

Furthermore, it mocked, "Forcing to link two fundamentally different relations, inter-Korean and North-US, and babbling about a 'virtuous cycle' itself is the height of ignorance and incompetence," calling it "moon talk that only works on the moon."

President Moon, during this year's New Year's press conference, also emphasized his determination to further improve the somewhat stagnant inter-Korean relations amid the deadlock in North-US talks, stating, "If we develop inter-Korean relations, it will not only be good in itself but also create a virtuous cycle that positively affects North-US dialogue."

Meanwhile, regarding North Korea's continued criticism of the South, the South Korean government expressed a principled stance to abide by and implement inter-Korean agreements.

The Ministry of Unification stated on the same day, "The government's basic position is to abide by and implement the agreements made by the South-North leaders, including the Panmunjom Declaration."

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