"South Korea is the enemy" North Korea's unilateral communication line cutoff widely reported by foreign media

Kim Yo-jong's Remarks on 'Anti-Enemy Operations' Report
Focus Also on North Korean Defector Leaflet Issue

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunwoo Lee] Foreign media outlets also reported breaking news and gave significant coverage to the news that North Korea is unilaterally cutting all inter-Korean communication lines. The foreign media focused on the remarks by Kim Yo-jong, the first deputy director of the Workers' Party and younger sister of North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un, who defined South Korea as an enemy.

AFP News Agency introduced Kim Yo-jong's statement on the 9th (local time) that "the inter-Korean affairs must be thoroughly transformed into hostile affairs," criticizing it as "North Korea defining South Korea as an enemy, disregarding the outcomes of the three summits between President Moon Jae-in and Chairman Kim in 2018, and completely halting inter-Korean relations."

Foreign media interpreted Kim Yo-jong's hardline remarks as an attempt to break the deadlock in North Korea-U.S. relations. AP News cited experts saying that since the Hanoi summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Chairman Kim broke down last year, the nuclear negotiations with the U.S. have been at a standstill, and North Korea is trying to find a breakthrough. It also analyzed that the North's cutting of communication lines would be unlikely to pose a practical threat, as the inter-Korean liaison office has been suspended due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

British BBC reported that the biggest reason triggering North Korea's decision to cut communication lines was the distribution of leaflets to North Korea by South Korean defectors, focusing on the leaflet issue. BBC reported that defectors are sending leaflets criticizing the North Korean authorities and daily necessities via large balloons, and North Korean officials consider it a very serious problem that North Korean residents, in a country with controlled information, receive outside news through leaflets.

Japanese media also reported North Korea's cutting of communication lines as an important story. Japanese outlets such as Jiji Press and Yomiuri Shimbun noted, "North Korea is requesting that South Korean authorities punish the defectors who distribute leaflets to North Korea and stop their actions as a condition for future agreement implementation," adding, "Attention is focused on what stance the South Korean government will take in the future."

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