Ministry of Unification: "North Korea's Use of 'Inter-Korean Issues' Expression Is Unprecedented... Monitoring Related Developments"

Chairman Kim Jong-un's Remarks at the 8th Party Congress Draw Attention
"Signal for Inter-Korean Relations Improvement" vs "Counting Chickens Before They Hatch"

North Korean Workers' Party Chairman Kim Jong-un delivered a work summary report on the third day of the 8th Workers' Party Congress on the 7th, according to a report by the Korean Central News Agency on the 8th.

On the third day of the 8th Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea, regarding the mention of inter-Korean and external relations, the Ministry of Unification stated on the 8th that it is "closely monitoring related developments."

The Ministry of Unification said that when an official was asked to evaluate North Korea's mention of "consideration of inter-Korean issues," the official responded, "North Korea mentioned 'consideration of inter-Korean affairs' and 'comprehensive expansion and development of external relations,' but has not yet disclosed specific details."

On the same day, through a report on the summary of the 7th term work of the Party Central Committee by the Korean Central News Agency, Chairman Kim stated that "we have considered inter-Korean issues in accordance with the formed situation and the changing demands of the times, and declared our Party's overall direction and policy stance to comprehensively expand and develop external relations."

This is being evaluated as suggesting a conciliatory policy direction in inter-Korean and external relations. A Ministry of Unification official said, "There have been cases in the past where North Korea referred to inter-Korean relations as 'North-South relations issues,' but it seems this is the first time the term 'inter-Korean issues' has been used."

Regarding speculation that North Korea will hold a military parade after the conclusion of the Party Congress, the official also said, "We are closely monitoring related developments," but refrained from further comment.

Meanwhile, on the fourth day of the Party Congress, North Korea attracted attention in the field of inter-Korean policy.

Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, said, "The fact that Chairman Kim treats inter-Korean and external issues as important matters to be advanced suggests that he has set a major policy for problem-solving through dialogue and cooperation."

He added, "Rather than isolating the South by aligning with the U.S., North Korea is expected to propose restoring inter-Korean communication channels and dialogue in the form of document exchanges or video conferences immediately after the Party Congress, following a strategy of prioritizing relations with the South before the U.S."

Hong Min, head of the North Korea Research Division at the Korea Institute for National Unification, also said, "There is a possibility of resetting relations or making unprecedented proposals beyond the existing principle-based agreements, dialogue, or exchange and cooperation proposals."

However, some also argue that it is premature to expect North Korea to return to a conciliatory inter-Korean strategy. Kim Dong-yeop, a professor at the Institute of Far Eastern Studies at Gyeongnam National University, pointed out, "There is already an atmosphere of prematurely expecting improvements in inter-Korean or North Korea-U.S. relations based on a single sentence mentioning inter-Korean and external relations by Chairman Kim, so caution is needed." Professor Kim added, "It is highly likely that the 8th Party Congress will exclude specific announcements or proposals directed at the South or the U.S."

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