The North Korean media now reports daily on the need to improve inter-Korean relations, as the two Koreas gear up for the seventh round of working-level talks to be held on the 14th. In particular, Pyongyang has been on a conciliatory drive since the 8th, when they suddenly offered a new round of talks after unilaterally abandoning the sixth round in July.
On the 8th, Rodong Sinmun, the official publication of the Chosun Workers’ Party, declared in an English-translation, “The longer the tragedy caused by national division imposed by foreign forces upon the Koreans lasts, the more unbearable their pain will become and the stronger their hope for reunification grows.”
On the 9th (“6.15 Joint Declaration, the basic key to solve the problem of ethnicity”), and the 10th (“Putting an end to the North-South quagmire as soon as possible”), the publication also pushed the same position.
Most recently, it ran a story on the 12th entitled “Improved Inter-Korean Relations Are Our Republic’s Consistent Stance.” It emphasized, “Turning inter-Korean relations from a relationship of confrontation and mistrust to one of reconciliation and trust is the demand of the era,” adding, “North and South should aim to improve relations for the future and destiny of our people.”
It went on, “Improving inter-Korean relations guarantees peace on the Korean Peninsula and is a prerequisite for achieving common prosperity and developing toward the unification of our people,” adding, “Our unchanging position is one of improving inter-Korean relations through cooperation and dialogue not confrontation, and opening the path to national prosperity and peace.”
The piece also blamed South Korean intransigence for the current state of affairs, claiming, “If the South Chosun authorities had responded positively to our well-intentioned, good faith measure, inter-Korean relations would already have entered a new phase.”
Experts say that the North Korean goal at this point is to put pressure on South Korea in order to create circumstances that favor Pyongyang in the run-up to the next round of talks. In particular, North Korea wishes to alter the frame of Chinese and international pressure on the North.
A senior researcher with the Police Science Institute, Yoo Dong Ryul explained to Daily NK, “North Korea believes that if it only talks about the Kaesong Industrial Complex then it won’t help them, so they are talking about across-the-board improvement.”
“They had been planning to ‘tame’ the Park Geun Hye administration by playing the ‘closing card’ on Kaesong. Once that didn’t go their way, their realized their tactical error, and we can now see them move toward attempting to normalize the Kaesong Complex.”
He added, “The Kaesong meeting is coming up, and this forms part of a psychological strategy to put pressure on the South Korean government.”
A researcher with the Sejong Institute, Oh Gyeong Seob agreed, adding, “North Korea is clearly feeling the need to improve North-South relations. After their third nuclear test and with the situation worsened by international sanctions, including with China, they are strongly hinting at a willingness to improve South-North relations.”
