Kim Jong-un’s ‘Enemy Country’ Statement Raises Concerns

On the 15th, North Korea decided to dissolve the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, the National Economic Cooperation Agency, and the Kumgangsan International Tourism Bureau, which have been in charge of inter-Korean talks and inter-Korean exchange tasks, at the 10th meeting of the 14th Supreme People’s Assembly held at the Mansudae Assembly Hall in Pyongyang, as reported by the Korean Central News Agency on the 16th. Chairman Kim Jong Un stated in his policy speech that it is important to reflect in the constitution the issue of “completely occupying, pacifying, and recovering South Korea and incorporating it into the territory of the Republic” in case of war. /Yonhap News

The government stated in response to North Korean Chairman Kim Jong Un‘s designation of South Korea as the ‘first enemy state,’ “We believe it reflects anxiety over absorption unification into a free democratic system.”

A Unification Ministry official met with reporters on the day and said, “North Korea’s change in its attitude towards the South is a series of processes after the collapse of the North-US summit in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2019.”

This official said, “North Korea seems to have an internal demand to divert internal dissatisfaction to the outside and intensify hostility towards the South in the current situation where economic sanctions and difficulties from the novel coronavirus infection are intensifying,” and “We believe it is part of psychological warfare to try to provoke division within our society by shifting the responsibility for changing the Southward route to our government.”

In response to a question about whether North Korea’s Foreign Minister Choi Sun Hee is likely to engage in arms trade during her four-day visit to Russia, the official predicted, “There is a high possibility that arms trade, including a visit by President Vladimir Putin to North Korea, will take place.”

At the same time, he stated, “There are concerns that there will be additional illegal transactions in the future as there are high-level exchanges between North Korea and Russia. There are circumstances such as sending Russian workers. We are watching with caution.”

By. Sharon Lee