Criticism of the North Korean Regime in the Cabinet Meeting Opening Remarks
Retaliation Several Times Over in Case of North Korean Provocation... Deception and Incitement Will Not Work
Emphasis on 'Inclusion' for North Korean Residents... Promise of Support for Defectors
President Yoon Suk-yeol on the 16th directly criticized North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong-un, who defined inter-Korean relations as those between "hostile two states," saying, "The North Korean regime itself has admitted that it is an anti-national and anti-historical group."
President Yoon made this criticism during the Cabinet meeting he presided over at the Yongsan Presidential Office that morning, in response to Kim Jong-un's speech at the Supreme People's Assembly.
Earlier, Kim Jong-un emphasized in his Supreme People's Assembly policy speech held in Pyongyang the previous day that it is important to reflect in the constitution the issue of completely occupying, pacifying, and recovering the Republic of Korea in the event of war and incorporating it into the territory of the republic, according to a report by the Korean Central News Agency on the same day.
Kim Jong-un also stated, "It is right to clearly specify the need to strengthen educational and ideological work so that the Republic of Korea is thoroughly regarded as the primary hostile country and an immutable adversary. The expressions 'Northern Hemisphere,' 'independence, peaceful reunification, and great national unity' in the constitution should now be deleted." At this meeting, North Korea abolished the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, the National Economic Cooperation Bureau, and the Kumgangsan International Tourism Bureau, which are organizations related to inter-Korean affairs.
President Yoon also addressed North Korea's artillery firing near the Northern Limit Line (NLL) and ballistic missile launches this year, calling them "political provocations aimed at unsettling our people and dividing the Republic of Korea," and warned repeatedly, "If North Korea provokes, we will retaliate several times over."
He also called on the public to establish a firm security perspective. President Yoon said, "If North Korea provokes, we will retaliate several times over. The disguised peace tactics that threaten 'war or peace' no longer work. Fake peace gained by succumbing to threats and provocations only puts our security at greater risk," and urged, "Our people and government must unite to overcome the North Korean regime's deceptive tactics, propaganda, and agitation."
President Yoon particularly distinguished between the North Korean regime and its people, unlike Kim Jong-un, highlighting the legitimacy of the government's North Korea policy. He said, "What threatens the Republic of Korea is the North Korean regime, not the North Korean people," adding, "The North Korean people are our same ethnic group who have the right to enjoy freedom, human rights, and prosperity just like us. We must warmly embrace them."
Furthermore, since North Korean defectors are also citizens of the Republic of Korea, the government promised support for their settlement, while promoting the establishment of a North Korean Defectors' Day at the Ministry of Unification and instructing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to strengthen international cooperation for the protection of defectors. President Yoon also pledged, "As the chairman of the National Unification Advisory Council, I will actively serve as a mentor to warmly embrace North Korean defectors."
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