SEOUL: North Korea is shaking up the way it handles relations with South Korea, enacting changes to policy and government organisations that would effectively treat the South as a separate, enemy state.
The moves, which break with decades of policy, could have North Korea's foreign ministry taking over relations with the South, and potentially help justify the use of nuclear weapons against Seoul in a future war, analysts said.
Since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a stalemate, both nations have had policies that treat each other differently than other countries.
That has included relying on special agencies and ministries for inter-Korean relations rather than their foreign ministries, and embracing policies for a future peaceful reunification, usually envisioning a single state with two systems.
But in remarks to a year-end party meeting last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said peaceful reunification is impossible, and said the government would make a “decisive policy change” in relations with the "enemy". He also ordered the military to be prepared to pacify and occupy the South in the event of a crisis.
The changes in policy could help North Korea justify using nuclear weapons against the South, as it has increasingly threatened in recent years, said Hong Min, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for National Unification in Seoul.
"If they give up on peaceful unification and redefine South Korea as a hostile enemy country with no diplomatic relations, the contradiction of using nuclear weapons against the same people will be eliminated," Hong said.
REFLECTING REALITY
Some observers say North Korea's declarations simply reflect the reality of two countries with deep divisions and disparities.
"North Korea in recent years had suggested that it was moving toward a fundamental shift in South Korea policy, and the December 2023 Party plenum not only confirmed it, it also formalised it," said Rachel Minyoung Lee, of the U.S.-based Stimson Center.
The extent of the organisational changes is unclear, and some analysts said that because such rhetoric is more closely reflecting the status quo, there is unlikely to be a major shift in the already antagonistic relationship between the two Koreas.
Previous periods of high tensions, for example during the "fire and fury" of 2016 and 2017, have also occasionally been followed by periods of detent and diplomacy, including during the 2018 and 2019 summits between Kim and the presidents of South Korea and the United States.
"North Korea in its report on the result of the party plenary meeting said it would not consider us as a counterpart for reconciliation and unification but the truth is that it has never sincerely pushed for them," an official with the South's unification ministry, which handles relations with the North, said in a statement on Wednesday.
FOREIGN MINISTER
The United Front Department (UFD) of the Workers' Party of Korea has traditionally been tasked with relations with the South, including intelligence gathering and propaganda efforts.
But even if talks do someday resume, the announcement likely means that Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui, a seasoned diplomat, will be the one overseeing relations with the South, said Michael Madden, a North Korea leadership expert with the Stimson Center.
"I would trace her role as a substantive adviser on unification and South Korea policy to Kim's 2019 visit to the former inter-Korea resort near Mt. Kumgang. Her attendance at that event was not unprecedented but it was most unusual and portended her writ expanding to South Korean policy," Madden said.
The fact that Choe, a career diplomat who has played little role in inter-Korean affairs, led the task of “dismantling and reforming” entities linked to South Korea, as reported by state media on Monday, could mean the foreign ministry will absorb those organisations and their functions, said Yang Moo-jin, president of the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul.
"The United Front Department and the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, which had traditionally handled inter-Korean ties, could be disbanded altogether or at least see their roles significantly reduce," he said. North Korea could also decide to cut the South out entirely and only deal with the United States, he added.
While foreign ministry officials occasionally advised on inter-Korean issues, under Kim there has been no known crossover between foreign ministry and UFD officials, Madden said.
Whatever changes occur, key UFD intelligence official are unlikely to be sidelined and the agency is likely to retain authority over some key propaganda broadcasts and websites, he added.
Reuters
Thu Jan 04 2024
Since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a stalemate, both nations have had policies that treat each other differently than other countries. - Astro AWANI
Palestin perlukan 14 tahun untuk dibangunkan semula
Jumlah besar runtuhan akibat serangan dilakukan tentera Israel di Semenanjung Gaza mengambil tempoh sekurang-kurangnya 14 tahun untuk dibersihkan.
#AWANI745
#AWANI745
Delegasi seluruh dunia pulang selepas misi ditangguh
Delegasi seluruh dunia dan Malaysia dijangka bergerak pulang ke negara masing-masing dalam waktu terdekat.
Ia selepas Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) mengumumkan penangguhan terbaharu misi Break the Siege Freedom Flotilla to Gaza pada Sabtu.
Rakan setugas Syaff Shukri dan jurukamera Ab Uzza Ab Latiff ada perinciannya.
#AWANI745
Ia selepas Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) mengumumkan penangguhan terbaharu misi Break the Siege Freedom Flotilla to Gaza pada Sabtu.
Rakan setugas Syaff Shukri dan jurukamera Ab Uzza Ab Latiff ada perinciannya.
#AWANI745
PRK N06 KKB: Kerajaan Perpaduan akan dibebani dengan isu semasa - Muhyiddin
Pilihan Raya Kecil Kuala Kubu Baharu kali ini akan menyaksikan Kerajaan Perpaduan ‘dibebani’ dengan isu-isu semasa yang dilihat membebankan rakyat, tegas bekas Perdana Menteri yang juga Pengerusi Perikatan Nasional, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
#AWANI745
#AWANI745
Tangkapan anak MB Perlis, tidak jejas sokongan
Tangkapan ke atas anak Menteri Besar Perlis, Mohd Shukri Ramli dan lima lagi individu oleh Suruhanjaya Pencegahan Rasuah Malaysia (SPRM) bagi membantu siasatan berhubung tuntutan palsu berjumlah RM600,000 tidak menjejaskan perjalanan Pilihan Raya Kecil Kuala Kubu Bharu yang ditandingi Perikatan Nasional.
#AWANI745
#AWANI745
PRK N06 KKB: UMNO, BN dukung calon PH demi Kerajaan Perpaduan – Ahmad Zahid
UMNO dan Barisan Nasional berpegang kepada prinsip mendokong calon yang mewakili Kerajaan Perpaduan, iaitu Pang Sock Tao, biarpun beliau berasal daripada parti DAP yang pernah menjadi seteru mereka satu ketika dulu.
#AWANI745
#AWANI745
Wanita lintas jalan direman dua hari
Pemandu SUV yang melintas jalan dan menyebabkan kemalangan, yang meragut nyawa seorang penunggang motosikal berkuasa tinggi direman dua hari.
Genting Malaysia nafi bincang mengenai kasino di Forest City
Genting Malaysia Bhd (Genting Malaysia) hari ini menafikan sebarang penglibatan dalam perbincangan mengenai pengoperasian kasino di Forest City, Johor.
AWANI Borneo [27/04/2024] - Peruntukan RM60 juta | GPS tumpu Sarawak | Risiko hilang kerusi
Laporan berita padat dan ringkas dari Borneo bersama Assim Hassan;
#AWANIBorneo 27 April 2024
Tertangguh lama, SMK Sebuyau bakal berwajah baharu
Sah! GPS tidak terlibat kempen PRK Kuala Kubu Bharu
MoU PBS dan STAR elak pertembungan calon dalam PRN Sabah
#AWANInews
#AWANIBorneo 27 April 2024
Tertangguh lama, SMK Sebuyau bakal berwajah baharu
Sah! GPS tidak terlibat kempen PRK Kuala Kubu Bharu
MoU PBS dan STAR elak pertembungan calon dalam PRN Sabah
#AWANInews
Pemain Astro Kem Badminton berpeluang berlatih dengan jurulatih dari BAM
Menurut Ketua Jurulatih Astro Kem Badminton 2024, Lee Wan Wah latihan intensif selama 5 hari itu merupakan satu peluang terbaik untuk pemain merasai pengalaman berlatih seperti untuk mewakili negara.
U Mobile buka kedai pertama di Sabah
Kedai pertama U Mobile di Sabah terletak di Imago Shopping Mall dan menawarkan pelbagai perkhidmatan seperti talian pra bayad dan pasca bayar U Borneo.
#AWANIBorneo
#AWANIBorneo
Korea Selatan mulakan liga bola lisut secara tertutup
Liga KBO memulakan musim dengan perlawanan antara SK Wyverns dan Hanwha Eagles yang dijalankan secara tertutup di Incheon.
Doan dipenjara tiga tahun empat bulan, cederakan Kim Chol
Bernasib baik kerana pendakwaan menawarkan pertuduhan alternatif yang hanya membawa hukuman penjara 10 tahun berbanding pertuduhan asal iaitu membunuh yang memperuntukkan hukuman mati mandatori.
MMA: ONE Championship announces 2019 calendar, expands fight to Tokyo
ONE Championship has just revealed its calendar for 2019, including its first live event in Tokyo, Japan, scheduled for 31 March 2019.
South Korean Customs looking into Korean Air 'nut rage' family
South Korea's Customs is looking into accusations that the family helming Korean Air did not pay customs duties on luxury goods brought into the country.
Kim Jong-un invites South Korean president for summit - South Korea
The invitation sets the stage for the first meeting of Korean leaders in more than 10 years.
Pembunuhan Jong Nam: Polis serah Ri Jong Chol kepada imigresen esok
Lelaki warga Korea Utara yang ditahan polis berhubung kes pembunuhan seorang rakyat negara itu pada 13 Feb lepas, akan diserah kepada Jabatan Imigresen esok.
Korean Air tolak dakwaan 'kru tidak terlatih' oleh penyanyi Richard Marx
Syarikat penerbangan ternama Korea Selatan, Korean Air berkata bahawa anak-anak kapalnya mengikut prosedur syarikat dalam mengawal penumpang selepas bintang 80-an Richard Marx memuat naik status.