Tae Young-ho: "The Liaison Office Explosion Was Kim Yo-jong's Ruthlessness Demonstration... To Strengthen North Korean Internal Unity"

North Korea Blows Up Inter-Korean Liaison Office the Day Before
"To Announce New Command Structure"

Tae Young-ho, a member of the United Future Party, is speaking at an emergency security briefing held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 10th. Photo by Yonhap News.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suwan] Tae Yong-ho, a member of the Future United Party and former charg? d'affaires at the North Korean embassy in the UK, analyzed on the 16th that North Korea's demolition of the Kaesong Inter-Korean Joint Liaison Office was "an attempt to consolidate the internally shaken North Korea under Kim Yo-jong's succession system due to economic difficulties."

In a post on his Facebook on the same day, Rep. Tae said, "I did not expect the demolition of the Inter-Korean Joint Liaison Office," and claimed, "The reason for taking such an extreme step as demolishing the Inter-Korean Joint Liaison Office is clearly to shake the Republic of Korea and send a strong message to the United States."

He continued, "Now, Kim Jong-un is not directly taking the lead but is putting forward Kim Yo-jong," adding, "Until now, there was no third party between the North Korean military and Kim Jong-un, but now Kim Yo-jong stands between Kim Jong-un and the military. This is to announce a new command structure where the entire North quickly moves at Kim Yo-jong's word."

He also said, "It seems that the Kim siblings are trying to imprint the image that Kim Yo-jong, although a woman, is a strong leader," and added, "There is no more effective means to imprint the leader's ruthlessness than 'purging important figures' or 'demolishing buildings.'"

Furthermore, Rep. Tae analyzed that the Kim siblings intend to firmly establish the perception among North Korean residents that in inter-Korean relations, the North, which possesses nuclear weapons, is the superior party (Gap), and the South is the subordinate party (Eul) through this demolition of the liaison office.

He also argued that a hardline approach should be taken in responding to North Korea. Rep. Tae said, "This incident has clearly reminded us that the government's peace-oriented and conciliatory policy toward North Korea over the past few years has limitations in managing North Korea stably," and "It is time for the government to recognize that responding to the Kim siblings' 'irrational behavior' with a 'firm and resolute attitude' is the best way to prevent further provocations from North Korea."

Rep. Tae emphasized, "If North Korea deploys troops in the Demilitarized Zone, we must restore the military measures taken under the September 19 military agreement to their original state," and "If North Korea stations troops in the Kaesong Industrial Complex and forcibly seizes our citizens' property, we must also take measures to freeze and seize North Korean assets overseas through legal battles."

He also stated, "The three major combined South Korea-US military exercises?'Key Resolve,' 'Foal Eagle,' and 'Ulchi Freedom Guardian'?which were effectively abolished by the Moon administration under the pretext of improving inter-Korean relations and denuclearization talks, must be resumed."

Finally, he added, "Compensation claims must be filed according to international law for this liaison office explosion incident," and "This incident should be officially submitted to the UN Security Council to further strengthen international cooperation opposing North Korea's irrational actions."

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