Association excluded
Kim Jong Un announces change of course towards South Korea
December 31, 2023, 11:04 a.m
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With an unprecedented series of missile tests, North Korea has been heating up tensions on the Korean peninsula for more than a year. Politically, ruler Kim Jong Un is now announcing a fundamental change of course. He no longer strives for reconciliation with the south.
North Korea’s largely isolated leadership has dealt a severe blow to hopes of rapprochement with South Korea in the new year. At the end of a party meeting lasting several days in the capital Pyongyang, ruler Kim Jong Un emphasized that his country was no longer seeking unification with its southern neighbor. “We should not make the mistake again of viewing them as counterparts for reconciliation and unification since South Korea has declared us its main enemy,” Kim was quoted as saying by state media. At the same time, North Korea announced that it would launch three more spy satellites into space in 2024.
North Korea is one of the most isolated countries in the world. It is subject to tough international sanctions because of its nuclear weapons and missile programs. Pyongyang considers its most important enemies to be the USA and South Korea. At the usual end-of-year meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party’s Central Committee that ended on Saturday, Kim also outlined security policy goals for 2024.
“The relations between South and North Korea are no longer those between people of the same race,” Kim said. The relationship has developed into one between states in a state of struggle. The current situation requires his government to redefine its stance on unification policy. The Korean peninsula has been in a state of war under international law since the end of the civil war between 1950 and 1953.
Hidden threat of war
“It is the first time that North Korea’s leadership has publicly stated that it is impossible to achieve unification,” said North Korea expert and former researcher at the South Korean Institute for National Unification, Park Young Ho. Pyongyang already has the Seoul government previously repeatedly blamed for the deterioration of relations.
According to observers, Kim’s comments also contained a veiled threat against the neighboring country. “Because of the enemies’ ruthless measures to invade our country, it is a fait accompli that a war may break out on the Korean Peninsula at any time,” Kim said. North Korea’s military must prepare to “pacify the entire area of South Korea” – if necessary with atomic bombs in the event of an attack, the ruler was quoted as saying.
Washington denies Pyongyang’s accusation that it is preparing an attack together with its allies. South Koreans fear that they will continue to experience troubled times in the new year. South Korea’s secret service recently warned that North Korea could undertake new provocations before the South Korean parliamentary elections in April and the US presidential election in November.
Arming with intercontinental ballistic missiles
In addition to expanding the nuclear arsenal and building military drones, North Korean reports also named launching three more reconnaissance satellites as one of the most important tasks for 2024. Kim emphasized that North Korea must stick to its hard offensive line. Reports hailed the launch of North Korea’s first spy satellite in November as a success. With its own military satellites, the country wants to be able to better monitor the movements of the USA.
The USA and its partners South Korea, Japan and Australia imposed new sanctions on North Korea because of the start. They accused Pyongyang of using technologies related to its intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program. North Korea’s development of ICBMs, whose range exceeds 5,500 kilometers, is primarily aimed at the nuclear power USA. The conflict over North Korea’s weapons programs has become significantly more explosive again. After an unprecedented series of missile tests last year, the country has again tested missiles, including ICBMs, several times in 2023. It also had enshrined nuclear armament in its constitution. The USA and South Korea have expanded their military cooperation, including joint exercises.