Progress in North Korea-Japan negotiations North Korean leader Kim Jong-un addresses Japanese Prime Minister Kishida as ‘Your Excellency’
North Korea is showing progress in North Korea-Japan negotiations by describing South Korea as an ‘enemy country’, sending a message to Japan consoling earthquake damage, and addressing Prime Minister Kishida as ‘Excellent.’
The comforting cable dated the 5th in the name of North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un refers to Prime Minister Kishida as 'Your Excellency' and says, "Unfortunately, after hearing the news that Japan has suffered many casualties and material losses due to an earthquake since the beginning of the new year, I would like to express my condolences to you and the bereaved families through you." “We express our deepest sympathy and condolences to the victims and the victims.”
The Korean Central News Agency released the consolation message on the 6th, and Yonhap News and Reuters each reported it on the 6th.
Yomiuri said, “North Korea’s Kim Jong-un, general secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea, sent a telegram expressing condolences to Prime Minister Kishida regarding the Noto Peninsula earthquake on the 5th,” and “It is unusual for North Korea’s supreme leader to send a message in response to a disaster in Japan.” It was reported.
Yomiuri said, “Chairman Kim Jong-un said in a telegram, ‘I have heard the news of casualties since the beginning of the year,’ and ‘I express my deepest condolences and condolences to the bereaved families and victims.’” He added, ‘I hope that the victims recover as soon as possible and regain a stable life. “I hope,” he added.
Reuters previously reported on the 4th, “North Korean Chairman Kim Jong-un said in his speech at the year-end party congress last week that peaceful unification is impossible and that the North Korean government will make a ‘decisive policy shift’ in relations with the ‘enemy.’” He also said, “He will also pacify the South in the event of a crisis.” “He ordered the military to prepare for the occupation.”
“In recent years, North Korea has signaled that it is moving toward a fundamental change in its policy toward South Korea,” Rachel Lee Min-young, a researcher at the US-based Stimson Center, told Reuters. “The party general meeting in December 2023 not only confirmed this, but formalized it.” .
Reuters said, “North Korea is shaking up the way it handles relations with South Korea, implementing changes in its policies and government apparatus that effectively treat South Korea as a separate enemy state.” “It could help us take over our relationship with South Korea, and it could help justify the use of nuclear weapons against South Korea in future wars,” he said.
Michael Madden, a North Korea leadership expert at the Stimson Center, said, “This announcement means that Foreign Minister Choe Son-hui, a seasoned diplomat, will likely take on the role of overseeing relations with South Korea. Although North Korean Foreign Ministry officials have occasionally advised on inter-Korean issues, “There has never been any known conversation between officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of National Defense under the Kim Jong-un regime,” he told Reuters.
Regarding North Korea's maritime firing along the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the West Sea on the 4th, U.S. State Department spokesman Miller said, "We urge North Korea (DPRK) to refrain from further provocative and destabilizing actions and to return to diplomacy." “In particular, we recommend that North Korea participate in substantive discussions to manage military risks and seek ways to establish permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula,” he said through the Voice of America (VOA) on the 5th.
A U.S. Department of Defense spokesperson said on the 5th, “We are monitoring these activities by North Korea,” and “We will continue to cooperate with the governments of South Korea and Japan to address the threat posed by North Korea.”
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida proposed to North Korea to conduct high-level consultations to quickly realize a North Korea-Japan summit with North Korean State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un at the 'Rally Calling for the Return of North Korean Abductees' on May 27, immediately after taking office last year, saying, "I will do this without any preconditions." “I decided to meet directly with Kim Jong-un,” he said.
Prime Minister Kishida said in the announcement of the Korea-Japan summit held in Seoul just before this, “There is no change in the fact that the window for dialogue with North Korea is open,” and this content was not included in President Yoon Seok-yeol’s announcement.
U.S. President Biden concluded the Washington Declaration at the summit with President Yoon, who visited Washington, at the end, saying, “The two leaders will firmly pursue dialogue and diplomacy without preconditions with North Korea as a means of advancing the common goal of achieving complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.” “There is,” he stated.
In a speech at the United Nations General Assembly in September last year, Prime Minister Kishida declared the resumption of diplomatic relations between North Korea and Japan, saying, "There is no change in our policy to comprehensively resolve the kidnapping (of Japanese nationals in North Korea), nuclear and missile issues, etc. and to resolve the unfortunate past and establish diplomatic relations." A North Korea-Japan summit was proposed.
On the 4th of the new year, North Korea displayed its 'belligerent enemy relationship' with South Korea by firing a naval gunfire near Yeonpyeong Island in the West Sea, and Japan expanded diplomatic negotiations with North Korea due to the dispute over sovereignty over Dokdo.
Prior to his nomination as Minister (September 13), Minister of National Defense Shin Won-sik conducted a special interview with Japan's largest daily newspaper, Yomiuri, on August 1 last year as a member of the National Assembly. In response to the question, 'What is the purpose of North Korea's development of nuclear weapons?', he answered, "It is for the survival of the Kim family." In response to the question, “What should we emphasize when dealing with North Korea?”, the answer was “We must give up the illusion that only we can change North Korea.”
Minister Shin said at the time, “The confrontation between the U.S. and China took on the appearance of a ‘new Cold War’ during the Trump administration. “Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year set the tone for a new Cold War,” he said. “Relations will deteriorate until either the United States or China bends their knees,” and “we have returned to the traditional era of maintaining peace by force.” “8 David Camp David said, “As for the Korea-U.S.-Japan summit, Korea and Japan will support the U.S. from the left and right.”
At the general meeting of the National Assembly's National Defense Committee in March last year, Minister Shin said, "It is true that there is a dispute between Korea and Japan over past history and Dokdo sovereignty," and repeatedly raised the issue of "regionalizing the Korea-Japan dispute" regarding Dokdo, and Yomiuri made it a priority for the minister's nomination in a planned interview. He gained international recognition and became a minister.
<Japanese Prime Minister Kishida tells North Korea, ‘Let’s meet Chairman Kim unconditionally’, May 27, 2023>