Kyodo News Reports...
Diplomatic Offensive Framing Inter-Korean Relations as 'Two Hostile States'
There have been reports that North Korea is seeking international understanding and support for State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong Un's policy of defining inter-Korean relations as those between two hostile states and abandoning peaceful unification.
On the 13th, Kyodo News, citing diplomatic sources, reported that when Chairman Kim met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing on the 4th, he explained the background of his policy to abandon peaceful unification with South Korea and sought understanding for his decision.
On the 4th, North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong Un and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a meeting in Beijing, China. Photo by Xinhua News Agency
However, the Chinese side's statement following the North Korea-China summit did not include any mention of supporting the abandonment of unification.
Chairman Kim reportedly made the same remarks during the North Korea-Russia summit held on the 3rd, and President Vladimir Putin is said to have expressed his support.
In August, Tae Hyong Chol, President of the North Korean Academy of Social Sciences, who was dispatched to Mongolia, also explained North Korea's views on the 'two hostile states' policy and the abandonment of unification, seeking understanding from the local authorities. It has been about eight years since North Korea last sent the head of an academic institution to Mongolia.
Kyodo News noted that North Korea is coordinating the dispatch of a high-ranking official as a speaker for the general debate at the United Nations General Assembly later this month, adding, "In addition to asserting the legitimacy of its nuclear arsenal, North Korea is likely to present its position on the situation on the Korean Peninsula."
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