In response to the DMZ land mine incident, Kim Yo-jong declares, “Let’s bolt the door shut for good”··· North Korea’s ‘two hostile states’ stance has become a real threat [News Analysis] - 경향신문

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On the 1st, in the border area facing Gaepung County, Hwanghae Province, North Korea, as seen from Songhae-myeon, Ganghwa-gun, Incheon, plumes of dust shot up as North Korean soldiers carried out blasting work presumed to be for constructing a tactical road. Yonhap News

Kim Yo-jong, Director of the General Affairs Department of the Workers’ Party of Korea, said in her second statement responding to the land mine accident in the western front’s Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) that “an enemy is still an enemy,” adding that their push to fortify the border is aimed “at bolting the door forever so that there will be no occasion to stand face-to-face with South Korea and so that even wild beasts cannot come and go.” This is seen as North Korea dismissing the government’s offer of dialogue while reaffirming its intent to sever inter-Korean ties under its ‘two hostile states’ line. Concerns are emerging that the North’s two hostile states stance has become a real threat that heightens military tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

According to compiled reporting on the 4th, in the statement released on the 2nd Kim said, “We must first know precisely what our true intent is in fortifying the border,” and, “Our greatest wish is to sever forever the ill-fated ties with the lot of people with whom standing face-to-face brings nothing but headaches.” She added, “To be frank, even being conscious of the people called South Korea gives us the creeps.”

Following the 30th of last month, Kim issued two statements on the DMZ land mine incident within three days. In the statement on the 30th, she condemned the South Korean military’s announcement that the cause of the incident was a mine laid by the North as “a self-produced clown show by Seoul.” The statement on the 2nd placed emphasis on severing inter-Korean relations and on once again drawing a clear line against the government’s proposal for dialogue. Earlier, President Lee Jae Myung said at the Armed Forces Day event on the 1st that “we will consistently carry forward practical measures to reduce military tensions between the two Koreas.” Hong Min, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said that day, “Kim is presenting ‘an enemy is still an enemy’ as the major conclusion of her statement,” adding, “this is close to a ‘no dealing with’ declaration at the level of two hostile states.”

The fortification of the border was stepped up from April of the following year in step with the ‘two hostile states’ line that North Korea’s State Affairs Commission Chairman Kim Jong-un formalized at the Workers’ Party Central Committee plenary session at the end of 2023. Since then, the North has installed mines, fences, and barriers near the Military Demarcation Line (MDL). The military authorities have been concerned that many MDL markers installed in 1953 have been lost, leading the two sides to perceive the boundary differently in some sections and raising the possibility of North Korean troops crossing the line. The military assesses that in just August and September of this year, North Korean forces violated the MDL on more than 50 occasions.

Until now, North Korea’s two hostile states line had mainly been highlighted through steps such as revising the constitution, reorganizing and streamlining its agencies that deal with the South, including the United Front Department, and severing inter-Korean road and rail links. In the wake of this DMZ land mine incident, growing concerns hold that the North’s severance measures could actually lead to military clashes.

Cho Han-bum, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said, “The fortification of the border, identified as the cause of the DMZ land mine incident, is being pursued under North Korea’s two hostile states line,” adding, “the two hostile states posture espoused by the North has become a major variable threatening peace on the Korean Peninsula.”

Despite the mine incident and the North’s rejection of the dialogue proposal, the government appears likely to maintain a stance of easing inter-Korean tensions. President Lee Jae Myung, in the congratulatory address for the 10·4 Inter-Korean Joint Declaration that was read by Kim Nam-joong, Vice Minister of the Ministry of Unification, said, “Recalling former President Roh Moo-hyun’s words that ‘there would be nothing but the repeated emergence of crises and a structure of confrontation to be gained from reciprocity’,” and added, “only by breaking the vicious cycle of hostility and confrontation can we create a virtuous cycle of peace and prosperity.”

There are also suggestions that, while managing the situation to prevent an escalation of military tensions, the government should call for a proactive role by the United Nations Command (UNC), which maintains a communication channel with the North. On the 2nd, Minister of National Defense Kang Shin-chul said at Camp Humphreys in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, after meeting General Xavier Brunson, Commander of the United Nations Command and concurrently Commander of US Forces Korea and the Combined Forces Command, that they “also discussed matters related to the mine explosion incident.”

Lim Eul-chul, a professor at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University, said, “While the phase of North Korea’s refusal of dialogue continues, it is important to manage the situation so that military clashes do not occur and to seek opportunities for talks,” adding, “the role of the US-led UNC, which still has a dialogue channel with the North, is important, and the government needs to ask the UNC to play an active role.”