"US, Stay Out of Inter-Korean Relations" North Korea's Kwon Jung-geun Issues Threat Immediately Upon Return

Returned as Director for US Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after half a year
Rated as an 'Attacker' in US negotiations... Noted for blunt remarks

A protest rally against the distribution of leaflets to North Korea by cadres and members of the North Korean Socialist Women's Union (Yeo-maeng) was held on the 9th in front of the Sincheon Museum in South Hwanghae Province, according to a report by the Korean Central News Agency on the 10th.

North Korea warned the United States on the 11th not to interfere in inter-Korean relations, saying, "If you do not want to suffer a terrible fate, it would be better to keep your mouth shut and tidy up your own house first." Recently, North Korea has refrained from mentioning the U.S. while issuing ultra-hardline messages toward South Korea.

On the same day, Kwon Jong-gun, director of the U.S. desk at North Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, responded to a question from a reporter of the North Korean state media Korean Central News Agency, asserting, "Inter-Korean relations are thoroughly an internal matter of our nation, and no one has the right to make petty quarrels about it."

Director Kwon warned, "At a time when the U.S. political scene is more chaotic than ever, if you do not think about taking care of your own affairs and unnecessarily meddle in others' matters and speak recklessly, you may face difficult and unfavorable consequences." He added, "There are quite a few unsettled issues between us and the U.S., so is there any need to play the role of South Korea's servant and take on troubles meant for others?"

He further emphasized, "If you do not want to suffer a terrible fate, keep your mouth shut and tidy up your own house first," adding, "That will not only be in the interest of the U.S. but also beneficial for smoothly conducting the upcoming presidential election right around the corner." This is interpreted as a message that North Korea will no longer engage in inter-Korean dialogue and that the U.S. should not interfere.

Additionally, through this message, it was confirmed that Kwon Jong-gun, who was regarded as North Korea's 'attacker' in its U.S. line, has returned to his position as director of the U.S. desk at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs after half a year. Kwon's return is seen as reflecting North Korea's concerns about its diplomacy toward the U.S.

Kwon had announced North Korea's positions on the U.S. and South Korea as director of the U.S. desk at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from February to October last year. However, around the time of the Stockholm North Korea-U.S. denuclearization working-level talks in October last year, he handed over the director position to Cho Chol-su and moved to a higher-level post as a roving ambassador at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Kwon's return to the U.S. desk director position in just half a year shows that North Korea is continuously reorganizing its Ministry of Foreign Affairs and U.S. line amid difficult domestic and international circumstances.

At the end of last year, North Korea dismissed Ri Yong-ho, one of its top U.S. experts, at the Workers' Party Political Bureau meeting and appointed Ri Son-gwon, an expert on South Korea, as his successor as chairman of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland.

Earlier this year, North Korea carried out a reorganization within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In April, it established a U.S. negotiation bureau and also issued a statement under the name of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' press office director, which had not appeared before.

Meanwhile, North Korea has also escalated its criticism of South Korea regarding the distribution of leaflets. The Workers' Party organ Rodong Sinmun emphasized in an editorial on the same day, "Regardless of how the situation unfolds later, even if inter-Korean relations are completely destroyed, our people’s iron will is that appropriate retaliation must be taken against the South Korean authorities."

It continued, "Currently, the enemies are shamelessly acting as if an unfortunate incident happened by accident on the surface, but in reality, they have not abandoned their sinister intent to overthrow our republic even for a moment," and claimed, "This incident is clearly a challenge and a declaration of war against us, who are determined to break inter-Korean relations."

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