Ministry of Unification "Seriously Aware of Current Situation... North Korea Must Make Efforts to Comply with Agreement" (Comprehensive)

"North and South Must Strive to Uphold All Agreements"

Minister of Unification Kim Yeon-chul is giving opening remarks at a press corps meeting held on the 7th of last month at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

On the 14th, the Ministry of Unification stated that it "takes the current situation very seriously" in response to a statement made the previous day by Kim Yo-jong, First Deputy Director of the Workers' Party of North Korea, suggesting the demolition of the inter-Korean joint liaison office and military actions against South Korea.

The Ministry of Unification emphasized, "Both South and North Korea must strive to adhere to all agreements between the two Koreas."

In her statement the previous day, First Deputy Director Kim said, "It seems the time has come to decisively break ties with the South Korean elements," and added, "We will soon take the next step in action."

She warned, "Before long, you will witness the miserable sight of the useless North-South joint liaison office collapsing without a trace," and threatened, "The authority to carry out the next hostile action will be handed over to our military's General Staff."

She continued, "Exercising the authority granted to me by the Chairman, the Party, and the State, I have instructed the relevant departments involved in hostile affairs to carry out the next step in action," reiterating, "The authority to carry out the next hostile action will be handed over to our military's General Staff."

She also emphasized, "I believe our military will decide and execute something to somewhat alleviate the anger of the people," effectively signaling impending military actions against South Korea.

On the same day, the Blue House held an emergency National Security Council (NSC) video meeting chaired by National Security Office Director Chung Eui-yong, attended by Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, Minister of Unification Kim Yeon-chul, Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo, and National Intelligence Service Director Suh Hoon.

Since Kim Yo-jong's first statement on the 4th, pressuring to sever inter-Korean relations over the distribution of leaflets against North Korea, Pyongyang has continued to issue increasingly strong statements daily up to the previous day.

On the 12th, around midnight, Jang Kum-chol, Director of the United Front Department, released a statement, followed by Kwon Jong-gun, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in charge of the United States, issuing another statement in the afternoon, delivering three rounds of pressure messages against the U.S. and South Korea within 24 hours.

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