▲ This file image shows Jang Kum-chol (R) at the inter-Korean truce village of Panmunjom in June 2019 when the leaders of South Korea, North Korea and the United States held a meeting. Jang was head of the North Korean ruling party's United Front Department at that time. (Yonhap)

N Korea-inter-Korean affairs

N. Korea confirms integration of inter-Korean affairs functions into foreign ministry

SEOUL, April 8 (Yonhap) -- A recent North Korean statement confirmed that the country has reorganized its unit dealing with inter-Korean relations in line with its policy of defining South Korea as a "hostile" nation and integrated it into the foreign ministry, experts said Wednesday.

In a rare late-night statement Tuesday, Jang Kum-chol, a senior North Korean official long involved in inter-Korean affairs, issued a press statement refuting Seoul's claim of "meaningful progress" in relations with Pyongyang.

Jang called it a "world-startling fools' hope-filled dream reading," reacting to the South Korean unification ministry's assessment that party department head Kim Yo-jong's swift response Monday to President Lee Jae Myung's expression of regret over drone incursions into the North constituted "meaningful progress" toward peace on the Korean Peninsula.

The statement referred to Jang, formerly head of the ruling party's United Front Department, as first vice foreign minister and director general of the foreign ministry's "Tenth Department," confirming his appointment to the new post for the first time.

It also marked the first time North Korea has officially referred to the Tenth Department, which had been assessed to be in charge of inter-Korean affairs.

Since leader Kim Jong-un announced a new policy defining the two Koreas as separate countries "hostile" to each other rather than those seeking unification, the country has abolished party and government bodies handling inter-Korean relations, including the United Front Department.

Experts assess that Jang's appointment as first vice foreign minister indicates that the foreign ministry now handles inter-Korean affairs, a sign that Pyongyang may continue its policy of treating Seoul as a separate country rather than an object for unification.

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