North Korea lashes out at South Korea, US

May 03, 2021, 08:30 am

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The North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s powerful sister, Kim Yo-jong, slammed South Korea over anti-Pyongyang leaflets floated across the border by a group of North Korean defectors in the South. She made the remarks in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency on May 2, 2021./ Source: Yonhap News

Washington correspondent Ha Man-joo & AsiaToday reporter Chun Hyun-bin

As North Korea lashed out at South Korea and the United States on Sunday, pressing for corresponding measures, people are paying attention to how the stalled relationship among Seoul, Pyongyang and Washington will go. Many are curious about whether North Korea, which has maintained a wait-and-see attitude until the outline of Biden administration’s policy toward North Korea came out, will express its position and take action.

Most of all, the first turning point in the situation on the Korean Peninsula would be how President Moon Jae-in coordinates the trilateral relations as his first summit with Biden is scheduled on May 21. However, the issue of a North Korean defector group sending anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets could be a substantial variable in the inter-Korean relations. Besides, some experts doubt about the driving force of the Biden administration although it has finished reviewing its North Korea policy and they say uncertainty still remains.

First, North Korea expressed strong dissatisfaction toward the Biden administration’s North Korea policy Sunday by announcing two statements in the name of a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry as well as Kwon Jong-gun, director general of the US Affairs department of the Foreign Ministry. Kwon warned over Biden’s first speech to Congress as the US President said he would address North Korean threats through ‘diplomacy and stern deterrence.’ “Now that the keynote of the US new DPRK policy has become clear, we will be compelled to press for corresponding measures, and with time the U.S. will find itself in a very grave situation,” Kwon said.

The North Korean foreign ministry issued the statement after US State Department spokesperson released a statement last week on the occasion of North Korea Freedom Week, criticizing the human rights situation in North Korea. Pyongyang accused the US of insulting the North Korean leader in its statement, saying, “This becomes an evident sign that it is preparing for an all-out confrontation with the DPRK, and this is also a clear answer to how we should approach the new administration in the US.”

In particular, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un’s influential sister blasted alleged anti-North Korea propaganda leaflet launches on Sunday, warning that the South Korean government should assume the responsibility. Kim Yo-jong claimed that recent leaftlet launches from North Korean defectors were a “serious provocation against our state,” and vowed to look into “corresponding action” in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.

Kim accused South Korean authorities of giving “silent approval” and said, “Whatever decision we make and whatever actions we take, the responsibility for the consequences thereof will entirely rest with the South Korean authorities.” Kim expressed strong dissatisfaction through harsh remarks, such as “reckless acts,” “displeasure over the matter,” and “intolerable provocation.”

North Korea’s such simultaneous statement issuance expressing strong opposition indicates its pressure on the Biden administration’s North Korea policy. Observers say the North is highly likely to push the situation surrounding the Korean Peninsula into tension through a substantial provocation against Seoul. Experts on North Korea claimed that Kim Yo-jong’s statement could be seen as a notification for actual corresponding action.

Regarding Kim Yo-jong’s remarks, the South Korean unification ministry urged the North to “refrain from actions that could heighten tensions surrounding the Korean Peninsula. The ministry said it is now conducting an investigation with relevant authorities into the claimed sending of leaflets, while saying that the anti-leafleting ban should be observed in accordance with its purpose of protecting the safety and lives of its citizen in border areas.

Some are questioning the Biden administration’s momentum for implementation, saying that uncertainty remains although it completed its DPRK policy review. “I can confirm that we’ve completed our DPRK policy review, which was thorough, rigorous and inclusive,” White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said Friday while speaking to reporters aboard the Air Force One. “Our goal remains the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula,” she said. “With a clear understanding that the efforts of the past four administrations have not achieved this objective, our policy will not focus on achieving a grand bargain, nor will it rely on strategic patience.”

The Washington Post (WP) explained that the Biden administration’s North Korea policy is striking a balance between President Donald Trump’s grand-bargain, leader-to-leader diplomacy and President Barack Obama’s arm’s-length approach to the crisis, citing US administration officials. “Our policy calls for a calibrated, practical approach that is open to and will explore diplomacy with the DPRK,” Psaki said. The WP pointed out that the specifics of the proposal Washington will put forward remain unclear, and said, “One of the many challenges US officials face is whether they can create momentum behind a phased approach that exchanges partial sanctions relief for partial denuclearization until the program is fully dismantled,” it said.

“It sounds like the Biden administration is emphasizing a more measured and reciprocal or step-by-step approach than the Trump administration,” said Celeste Arrington, assistant professor at George Washington University. “Time will tell if it can achieve incremental steps, which will depend in large part on North Korea’s response,” she said.

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