청 "North Korea's Kim Yo-jong Statement Taken Seriously and Analyzed for Meaning"

Kim Yo-jong "Declaration of End of War is a Good Idea"... Blue House "No Apparent Gap Between Kim Yo-jong and North Korean Foreign Ministry Statements"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] The Blue House stated on the 24th that it is taking seriously the statement by Kim Yo-jong, Deputy Director of the Workers' Party of Korea, that a Korea Peninsula end-of-war declaration is a "good idea," and is analyzing its significance.

The Blue House evaluated that there does not seem to be a gap between the statement by Ri Tae-sung, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs, who said the end-of-war declaration is "premature," and Kim Yo-jong’s statement. Although there are differences in wording, the implication that the possibility of an end-of-war declaration remains open is consistent.

Park Soo-hyun, Senior Secretary for Public Communication at the Blue House, said in an interview with YTN's "The News" on the 24th, "The government is taking Deputy Director Kim Yo-jong’s statement seriously and is accurately analyzing its meaning."

The view of the Blue House from Namsan, Seoul. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Park said, "Vice Minister Ri Tae-sung’s message in the morning can be seen as directed toward the United States, while Kim Yo-jong’s statement now is very formal and weighty, and we view it as sending a message directly about the role of our Republic of Korea and to our country."

Park explained, "There does not seem to be a gap between the statements by Vice Minister Ri Tae-sung in the morning and Deputy Director Kim Yo-jong now. Vice Minister Ri said it was premature in the morning, but he attached the condition that if the United States withdraws its hostile policy toward North Korea."

Park added, "The condition implies that a process of consultation and dialogue to meet that condition is necessary, right? Ultimately, I think the message sent to the United States is that the door to dialogue to fulfill that condition is open."

Park said, "I just received and read Deputy Director Kim Yo-jong’s statement on the way here, and it is the same. It assigns meaning to the end-of-war declaration just like the morning statement."

Park said, "In the morning, a precondition was mentioned to the United States, and in the afternoon, Kim Yo-jong is ordering us to play some role, but in any case, we are taking it very seriously and with great significance."

Regarding the possibility of an end-of-war declaration, Park said, "If the United States responds to preconditions such as withdrawing its hostile policy to some extent, and North Korea accepts it, then if only an opportunity for dialogue is created, it could gain momentum quickly. If they can sit down face-to-face within a few days, that is possible."