Unification Ministry Senior Official: "We Have No Intention to Overlook the Destruction of the North Korea Liaison Office"

"Backtracking on Inter-Korean Agreement... Very Harsh and Shocking"
However, "North Korea Does Not Want a Breakdown in Inter-Korean Relations"
"Now We Must Use Inter-Korean Progress to Resolve the North Korea-US Deadlock"

On July 1st, the Industrial Complex Support Center at the Kaesong Industrial Complex, viewed from the border area in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, remains damaged and abandoned following the demolition of North Korea's liaison office.

A senior official from the Ministry of Unification stated regarding North Korea's demolition of the Kaesong Inter-Korean Joint Liaison Office last June, "(Between South and North Korea) we have no intention of simply covering up this issue as if nothing happened."

The official told reporters, "The liaison office issue goes against the spirit of inter-Korean agreements, and I think the manner in which it was done was very rough and shocking," expressing this view.

At the same time, he assessed that the situation on the Korean Peninsula has reached a major turning point after the U.S. presidential election, emphasizing the need for proactive North Korea policies in various areas, including this agenda. He said, "Regarding the liaison office demolition issue, we need to be able to discuss with North Korea what constitutes responsible measures and what steps can be taken to prevent recurrence."

He particularly diagnosed that, given the current flow of circumstances, a moment for inter-Korean dialogue and cooperation is approaching. He said, "As we move into the end of the year and the beginning of the next, objective factors that make dialogue and cooperation inevitable are increasing." He added, "South and North Korea exchanged letters between leaders in September, and North Korea showed an unusual apology regarding the West Sea public official shooting death incident."

He also referred to the refined external message sent by North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un at the 75th Party Foundation Day in October, saying, "Considering these situations comprehensively, I believe North Korea at least tried to prevent the worst-case, catastrophic scenario. I think there is a will to rebuild good inter-Korean relations." He further stated, "I hope we can proceed with a process that does not miss the timing and allows for practical approaches such as inter-Korean health and medical cooperation centered on COVID-19," revealing his future vision.

North Korea held housewarming ceremonies after completing typhoon damage recovery in Kimchaek City, Hamgyongbuk-do, according to photos taken on the 6th and reported by the Korean Central News Agency.

The senior official from the Ministry of Unification also expressed hope that progress in inter-Korean relations could help resolve the deadlock in North Korea-U.S. relations. He emphasized, "Instead of the attitude that 'North Korea-U.S. relations are deadlocked, so inter-Korean relations are difficult,' we must change our mindset to 'We should resolve inter-Korean issues well so that North Korea-U.S. relations can improve.'

He evaluated that although former U.S. President Donald Trump's 'top-down' dialogue approach is expected to shift to a 'bottom-up' approach in the Biden era, South Korea can actually create new opportunities here.

While expressing concern that the Biden administration pursues a bottom-up negotiation approach centered on working-level officials and North Korea pursues a top-down approach centered on the supreme leader, he said, "That is why it is very important to have someone who can play a role in the middle."

He said, "I believe this could be a new opportunity for the South Korean government," adding, "Before worrying about whether it is top-down or bottom-up, if we can find good negotiation content and solutions to problems, I believe the differences in negotiation methods can be overcome."

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