North Korea Floods Hostile Rhetoric Against Leaflets and the U.S... Will the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea and the Kumgangsan Tourism Bureau Be Dissolved?

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] North Korea has collectively condemned the United States through statements by Kim Yo-jong, Deputy Director of the Workers' Party, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry's U.S. Affairs Department. The criticism not only targets the recent leaflet drops into North Korea but also serves as a strategic move to seize the initiative regarding the conclusion of U.S. North Korea policy. Experts expressed concerns that North Korea might dismantle the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland or the Kumgangsan International Tourist Bureau, or carry out provocations.

On the 2nd, Kim Yo-jong, Deputy Director of the Workers' Party, stated in a statement that the leaflet drops are an "unacceptable provocative act" and that "corresponding actions are being considered." She shifted responsibility to the South Korean authorities, saying they "did not properly control" the situation.

Also on the same day, North Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs condemned the U.S. government's support for the leaflet drops on the 28th of last month (local time) as a "serious political provocation" and an "infringement on national sovereignty," announcing that it would take corresponding measures. Kwon Jung-geun, Director of the U.S. Affairs Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, warned that President Biden's first congressional address, in which he said he would "address the North Korean nuclear threat through diplomacy and firm deterrence," was a "very serious mistake" and that corresponding measures would be taken.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Experts analyze North Korea's issuance of statements under the names of Deputy Director Kim, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry's U.S. Affairs Director as a strategic move to seize the initiative. Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, said, "It is very unusual for three statements to be released simultaneously," adding, "This also reflects a power struggle ahead of the announcement of the U.S.'s new North Korea policy and the upcoming South Korea-U.S. summit, and it is intended to show that the initiative on the Korean Peninsula issue lies with North Korea, not with South Korea and the U.S."

Park Won-gon, a professor in the Department of North Korean Studies at Ewha Womans University, said, "This can be seen as a continuation of the statement offensive and missile provocations that began in March," and analyzed, "It may be a typical North Korean behavior to observe maximum demands through pressure on the U.S. and heightened tensions on the Korean Peninsula."

North Korea's mention of "corresponding responses" could mean the dismantling of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland and the Kumgangsan Tourist Bureau, and even the nullification of the September 19 inter-Korean military agreement. Deputy Director Kim had previously hinted at this in a statement in March. Kim Dong-yeop, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, said, "The dismantling of the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland and the Kumgangsan Tourist Bureau, as well as other inter-Korean exchange and cooperation organizations, would revert inter-Korean relations to the state before June 15 and shake the foundation of inter-Korean relations so far," adding that, similar to North Korea's demolition of the inter-Korean liaison office last June, "there is also concern that something might be blown up in Kumgangsan this time."

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