Presidential Office on Kim Yo-jong's Statement: "Rude Remarks and Distortion of Bold Initiatives... Deeply Regrettable"

Presidential Office: "North Korea's Attitude Does Not Help North Korea's Future or Peace on the Korean Peninsula"
"No Change in Position to Pursue Denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and Development of Inter-Korean Relations"

On the 16th, one day before President Yoon Suk-yeol's 100th day in office, the Presidential Office building in Yongsan-gu, Seoul is shown. President Yoon, emphasizing the elimination of authoritarianism, moved the seat of government from the former Blue House to Yongsan. With the president's office relocated to Yongsan, the Blue House has been fully opened to the public. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] The Presidential Office expressed "deep regret" on the 19th regarding a statement by Kim Yo-jong, the Deputy Director of the Workers' Party of Korea, who publicly condemned President Yoon Suk-yeol's roadmap for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and his North Korea policy, the "Bold Initiative."

In a statement titled "Presidential Office Position on Kim Yo-jong's Statement," issued to the press corps that morning, the Presidential Office said, "We deeply regret North Korea's rude remarks mentioning the President by name, distorting our 'Bold Initiative,' and continuously expressing intentions to develop nuclear weapons."

It added, "Such an attitude by North Korea is not only unhelpful to its own future but also detrimental to peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula, and only accelerates its isolation in the international community."

Furthermore, it emphasized, "Our position to pursue North Korea's denuclearization and the development of inter-Korean relations through the 'Bold Initiative' remains unchanged, and we urge North Korea to exercise restraint and carefully reconsider."

Earlier, Kim Yo-jong, in a statement released through the Workers' Party's official newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, criticized the Bold Initiative as "absurd" and "the height of foolishness," declaring, "We will never engage with it."

The statement also disparaged the initiative by saying, "(The Bold Initiative) is nothing new but merely a copy of the 'Denuclearization, Openness, 3000' policy introduced over ten years ago by the Lee Myung-bak regime, which was abandoned as a product of inter-Korean confrontation without attracting public attention."

Moreover, it simultaneously disparaged former President Moon Jae-in, who proposed the "Korean Peninsula Driver Theory," and President Yoon, who announced the Bold Initiative, stating, "After the person who once claimed to be the '...driver' and puzzled many disappeared, another person living by their own whims, who does not match that at all, has appeared and taken power."

In this process, President Yoon Suk-yeol was mentioned by name without any official title, and harsh language was used to criticize him.

[Image source=Yonhap News]