N. Korea halts radio station known for sending coded messages to spies in Seoul
Korea HeraldJan 04
NKorea: Reunification With South No Longer Possible
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The Facts
North Korea has abolished three key government agencies promoting reconciliation and reunification with South Korea. The North's leader Kim Jong Un told the Supreme People's Assembly that reconciliation was no longer possible, Pyongyang's state media reported on Tuesday.
The decision adopted by the country's parliament affects the Committee for Peaceful Reunification, the National Economic Cooperation Bureau, and the Mount Kumgang International Tourism Administration, which existed for North-South dialogue, negotiations, and cooperation.
The Spin
Anti-North Korea Narrative
By abolishing key unification bodies and labeling South Korea a hostile nation, the Kim regime is yet again revealing its true nature. Kim's speech marks a dramatic shift from his predecessors' stance, that always aimed for reconciliation and reunification despite all bilateral tensions. By portraying the US and South Korea as aggressive enemies, the North's regime is trying to consolidate its rule and legitimize its power, with recent missile tests indicating that Kim has decided to resort to war. The US and the rules-based order must now increase pressure on Pyongyang to prevent this from happening.
Pro-North Korea narrative
Kim's latest statements are understandable from a North Korean perspective, as it is the South that refuses to recognize the DPRK's legitimacy by openly stipulating in its constitution that its territorial sovereignty covers the entire Korean peninsula. Added to this is the US and its regional vassals' constant saber-rattling, which leaves Pyongyang no choice but to strengthen its self-defense capabilities. The North will never unleash a war unprovoked, but should the US regime and Seoul decide to threaten North Korea's existence, the result will be their existential defeat.
