North Korea has shut down its agencies dealing with reunification and tourism with South Korea....CONTINUE READING THE FULL ARTICLE>>>
According to reports by Reuters, the move follows a parliamentary session where North Korean leader Kim Jong-un declared that unification with the South was impossible and that his country was ready for war.
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Kim accused the South of trying to overthrow his regime and achieve unification by absorption. He said before the parliament, which mainly rubber-stamps his decisions, that he did not want a war but would not shy away from one.
He also called for constitutional amendments to designate South Korea as “enemy state number one” and to provide for the occupation and annexation of the South in the event of a war.
The Korean Central Committee issued a statement saying that the parliament approved the closure of three state agencies that were in charge of unification and inter-Korean tourism.
Kim also warned that any violation of North Korea’s territory, “even by 0.001 millimeters”, would be seen as a “military provocation”. He added that his country did not recognize the maritime border with the South, which has been a source of frequent clashes.
South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol vowed to “respond a hundredfold” to any provocations by Pyongyang. In a televised cabinet meeting, he highlighted the “tremendous capabilities” of the South Korean military to counter such threats.
The two Koreas are technically still at war, as the Korean War ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty. North Korea’s decision comes amid rising tensions on the peninsula, as Pyongyang has conducted a series of missile tests and changed its stance toward the South, Reuters reports.
Analysts say that North Korea’s foreign ministry could take over the relations with Seoul and possibly help justify the use of nuclear weapons against the South in a future conflict.
Yesterday, North Korea announced that it had test-fired a solid-fuel ballistic missile, which was condemned by the United States, South Korea and Japan. The three countries discussed the issue, according to the State Department…CONTINUE READING>>
