Posted on 02/01/2024 3:41:57 PM PST by FarCenter
SEOUL -- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's declaration that he is abandoning unification with South Korea, after more than 50 years of alternating progress and stagnation, hints at greater confidence in Pyongyang's military capabilities -- with apparent aid from Russia.
South Korean media recently took note of a change in the North: Weather forecasts on Pyongyang's state-run Korean Central Television switched from a map that highlighted the entire Korean Peninsula to one that only marked the northern half.
This was around the same time that Kim declared in a January speech that North Korea should "completely eliminate such concepts as 'reunification,' 'reconciliation' and 'fellow countrymen' from the national history of our republic."
Pyongyang shut down three agencies related to unification, including the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Country, which was responsible for North-South dialogue. Kim dismissed "homogeneous relations" between the countries as "remnants of the past era," and proposed amending the constitution to clearly delineate North Korea's territory.
This signals an end to the special diplomatic position that Pyongyang afforded Seoul in light of their anticipated future unification. Kim called for the demolition of a railway linking the two countries, and ordered the destruction of a monument symbolizing reunification efforts.
The policy of reunification had been a tool in North Korea's national strategy for many years, starting in 1972, when then-leader Kim Il Sung and South Korean President Park Chung-hee sent secret envoys to each other, culminating in a joint communique that year. This opened the door for reuniting families split up during the Korean War.
...
Discarding the unification card makes it that much harder for the U.S., South Korea and Japan to draw North Korea to the negotiating table, narrowing their diplomatic options and heightening the importance of deterrence.
(Excerpt) Read more at asia.nikkei.com ...
Bump.
The Russians have their client state, we have NATO. Same difference.
You should share your Russia/North Korea love with our troops in South Korea.
Trump was replaced by Biden so Kim replaced Donald Trump with Vladimir Putin as a buddy to talk to.
Lets Go Brandon!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.