Unification Ministry: Kim Jong Un’s China visit “should contribute to peace on the Korean Peninsula”; “closely monitoring” speculation about North Korea–U.S. summit coordination

[Financial News] The Ministry of Unification (MOU) said on the 26th that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s visit to Dandong, China, should lead to a contribution to peace on the Korean Peninsula. Kim visited Dandong on the 24th on a day trip, his first visit in about a year and a month. He traveled to China by car across the New Yalu River Bridge, which opened for the first time in 12 years. He also visited the Memorial Hall of the War to Resist U.S. Aggression and Aid Korea, a symbol of “anti-Americanism.”
At a regular briefing that day, MOU spokesperson Yoon Min-ho was asked whether Kim had gone to China to coordinate the North Korea–United States Singapore Summit. He avoided a direct answer, saying, “We plan to closely monitor the situation regarding this matter and carry out our government’s role.”
He added, “The MOU is closely monitoring the impact Kim Jong Un’s visit to Dandong, China, may have on the situation on the Korean Peninsula, and is carefully analyzing its timing, format and content.” He also said, “The government hopes the visit will lead to a constructive contribution to peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and to the resumption of dialogue among neighboring countries.”
He explained that Minister of Unification Chung Dong-young’s recent comment in a media interview that “the MOU believes the North Korea–United States Singapore Summit has come into view” was based on consideration of various circumstances.
He said that North Korea’s letter to the president of the UN Security Council the previous day, calling the land-mine explosion involving North Korean troops in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) a staged incident, appeared largely to be a counter-response.
Yoon said, “It appears to be a counter-response to the letter our government sent to the president of the Security Council some time ago regarding the DMZ land-mine explosion,” adding, “North Korea appears to be repeating its existing position on the incident in an attempt to justify its so-called border fortification work.”
The MOU also said its opposition to independent cyber sanctions against North Korea, which the Foreign Ministry is reviewing, had not changed.
On independent cyber sanctions, he said, “The MOU’s position has not changed, and we will continue consulting with the relevant ministries on that basis.”
There was also a question about whether the cooperation being pursued after Kim visited a bus manufacturing plant in Dandong, China, would violate UN sanctions against North Korea. The MOU replied, “The North has not provided specific details about the purpose of the visit,” adding, “We will refrain from prejudging the matter and continue to monitor it.”


[email protected] Kim Kyung-soo Reporter