North Korea Silent on US Dialogue Proposal... Likely to Respond, Though It May Take Time

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo In-ho] Unlike China, which responded immediately to the outcome of the South Korea-US summit, North Korea, having received a proposal from the US to ‘engage in dialogue,’ is unusually maintaining silence.

According to the Ministry of Unification on the 25th, North Korea has not issued any official statements or agency commentaries from the end of the South Korea-US summit on the 21st (local time) until the morning of the 25th.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The propaganda media Uri Minjokki, while criticizing the Japanese government’s decision to discharge contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant and the South’s ‘media-prosecutor conflict,’ avoided mentioning the South Korea-US summit.

Other propaganda outlets such as ‘Meari’ and ‘Chosun Today’ have only published articles ordering achievements in the fields of science and technology and rice planting. This behavior contrasts with previous days when North Korean media continuously criticized the South Korea-US joint military exercises, leaflet drops over North Korea, and North Korean human rights issues.

Experts speculate that since no justification or conciliatory message has emerged in response to dialogue demands from our government or the US, North Korea is likely contemplating its future strategy rather than taking immediate action.

There is a possibility that North Korea might escalate tensions using the end of the South Korea-US missile guidelines as a pretext to a ‘strong against strong’ stance. Conversely, if concrete and unprecedented proposals related to ‘sanctions relief,’ which North Korea has demanded, are presented, it may show signs of shifting to a conciliatory attitude while buying time.

Professor Yang Moo-jin of the University of North Korean Studies said, “Considering Kim Jong-un, General Secretary of the Workers’ Party’s decision, coordination with North Korea-China and North Korea-Russia, and the COVID-19 situation, it will take some time before a decision on dialogue is made. However, the possibility that North Korea will eventually come to the dialogue table is high.”

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