Will Pyongyang return to negotiating table?
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un presides over a session of the plenary meeting of the eighth Central Committee of North Korea's ruling Workers' Party of Korea in Pyongyang, Thursday, in this photo released by the Korean Central News Agency. Yonhap
North Korean leader stresses 'both dialogue and confrontation' with US
By Kwon Mee-yoo
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un emphasized stable control of the situation on the Korean Peninsula, Friday, and said the isolated state should be ready for "both dialogue and confrontation," in an apparent conciliatory gesture toward South Korea and the United States.
It is rare for the bellicose North to mention dialogue, and considering the remarks were made a day before U.S. special representative for North Korea Sung Kim's visit to Seoul, attention is now on whether stalled denuclearization talks will get a makeover.
According to the North's official Korean Central News Agency, during a ruling Workers' Party of Korea meeting Thursday, Kim said the country has "made a detailed analysis of the policy tendency of the newly emerged U.S. administration toward North Korea and clarified appropriate strategic and tactical counteraction and the direction of activities to be maintained in relations with the U.S. in the days ahead."
This is the first time that Kim has commented on the U.S.'s North Korea policy after President Joe Biden took office in January. The Biden administration finished reviewing its policy toward the North and said it would pursue a "calibrated, practical approach" on the way to the complete denuclearization of the peninsula.
What enticements will Sung Kim offer to North Korea? 2021-06-20 14:01 | North Korea
During a five-day visit to Seoul, Sung Kim is scheduled to have bilateral and trilateral meetings with his South Korean counterpart, Noh Kyu-duk, and Japan's North Korea point man, Takehiro Funakoshi.
The fact that Kim's message was not antagonistic toward the U.S. has prompted Pyongyang watchers to believe it signals North Korea's willingness to hold talks.
Lim Eul-chul, a professor at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University, said that Kim sending a message to Washington was a sign of change as Pyongyang has not responded to U.S. calls for talks. He also said that Kim's emphasis on full preparation for confrontation may be designed to keep his people on a heightened state of alert.
"Though North Korea is hinting at the possibility of talks with the U.S., it is also preparing for confrontation, as the U.S. maintains its hostile policy against Pyongyang and the situation hasn't changed enough to resume conversations," Lim said.Officials raise their hands in favor of a policy during a plenary meeting of the eighth Central Committee of North Korea's Workers' Party in Pyongyang, Thursday, in this photo released by the Korean Central News Agency. Yonhap
While Kim's speech showed conciliatory gestures compared to past remarks, some experts believe that North Korea's stance toward the U.S. appears unchanged.
Park Won-gon, a professor of North Korean studies at Ewha Womans University, said Kim's remarks basically repeated the North's diplomatic position announced earlier.
"The North's stance toward the U.S. is similar to what it said in the Eighth Congress of the Workers' Party of Korea in January. Kim said he would respond to U.S. policy with a principle of 'to power with power and goodwill with goodwill' and it remains the same in Thursday's remarks in a larger frame. North Korea won't come out to talk unless the U.S. withdraws its hostile policy," Park told The Korea Times.
"The U.S. has rolled out its North Korea policy review and it was mentioned in the South Korea-U.S. summit in May as well. It is time for North Korea to define its position in response. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the diplomatic ball was in North Korea's court and Kim has now passed the ball back to the U.S. by reconfirming the North's stance, which is an extension of what he said in January."
South Korea's unification ministry said it would keep an eye on the North's plenary meeting.
"The government emphasizes once again that dialogue and cooperation is the best way to stably control the situation and establish peace on the Korean Peninsula," Cha Deok-cheol, deputy spokesman at the ministry, said during a regular press briefing, Friday.
- 最近发表
-
- 高温难耐,工会驿站化身“清凉小屋”
- 中国平安参与方正集团重整投资获批 7家新方正集团主体注册成立
- 青岛工行“我为群众办实事 建设人民满意银行”:为军服务见真章 协同联动创辉煌
- 启动项目建设“新引擎” 构筑磷化工产业发展“新优势”
- Expanded police surveillance will get us “broken windows” on steroids.
- 《大宋少年志》正在热映 青岛演员文俊珽“改头换面”演忠臣
- 绗?1鏈熷叏鍥藉尰缇庡挩璇紙璁捐锛夊笀瑙勮寖鍖栧煿璁潰鎺堢彮闂箷
- 逐梦新时代 扬帆启征程 青岛八大湖街道举办文艺汇演庆祖国70周年华诞
- Tesla Robotaxis aren't coming in August, it seems
- 增城龙须菜热销北京上海!7元一斤采购商抢着订
- 随机阅读
-
- Which is Faster for Gaming, Windows 10 or Windows 11?
- 缁湡淇濊垂鍗犳瘮71.5% 鏂板崕淇濋櫓2021骞翠笟鍔$粨鏋勮壇濂絖涓浗灞变笢缃慱闈掑矝
- 不断提升职业技能水平 为城镇燃气安全作贡献
- “大学生眼中的新100”创意摄影大赛举行颁奖典礼
- Why Kamala Harris triggers Donald Trump so intensely.
- 33人获得“四川好人”殊荣
- 五彩缤纷“画友谊”庆祝中俄建交70周年青少年美术作品交流展
- 美丽工行人:临近退休不褪色 坚守岗位守初心
- Ruling bloc divided on foreign nannies' pay
- 仔猪火爆!猛涨至400元/头!未来或涨至600元!
- 鍚屽績鎶楃柅鍏卞緟鑺卞紑 娌笂闃垮Ж椴滄灉鑼惰嚧鏁竴绾跨柅鎯呴槻鎺у伐浣滆€卂涓浗灞变笢缃慱闈掑矝
- 閲戣瀺鎯犻偦 鍏变韩涔﹂ 鍏ㄥ競棣栧鈥滃叡浜浘涔﹂摱琛屸€濆湪鎷涘晢閾惰浜浉
- Freedom from Dissent
- 青岛青年志愿者抗疫突击队战疫一线勇担当
- 青岛移动丨打造“六库全书”,强化一线支撑
- 市市场监管局督导调研名山区市场监管工作
- 夜间献血模式“上线”
- 小伙水潭溺水 命悬一线 老人及时营救 化险为夷
- 青岛移动丨打造“六库全书”,强化一线支撑
- 孟获城景区花海风筝季试飞活动举行
- 搜索
-
- 友情链接
-