North Korea’s Kim Jong-un no longer wants unification with South Korea. Iran executes five people for aggravated robbery

North Korea’s largely isolated leadership has dealt a severe blow to hopes of rapprochement with South Korea in the new year. At the end of a multi-day party meeting in the capital Pyongyang, ruler Kim Jong Un emphasized that his country was no longer seeking unification with its southern neighbor. “We should not make the mistake again of seeing them as counterparts to reconciliation and unification, since South Korea has declared us our main enemy,” Kim said in state media on Sunday. At the same time, North Korea announced that it would launch three more spy satellites into space in 2024.

On New Year’s Day, North Korea took its first steps toward implementing Kim’s future course toward South Korea. Foreign Minister Choe Son Hui has consulted officials on “dissolving and reforming” the agencies responsible for relations with the south, state-run media reported. No further details were initially known.

North Korea is one of the most isolated countries in the world. The country is subject to heavy international sanctions over its nuclear weapons and missile programs. Pyongyang considers the US and South Korea its main enemies. At the customary year-end meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party’s Central Committee, which ended on Saturday, Kim also outlined security policy goals for 2024.

“The relations between South and North Korea are no longer between people of the same nation,” Kim said. The current relationship is one between two warring states. The situation requires his government to redefine its position on the unification policy. The Korean Peninsula has been in a state of war under international law since the end of the civil war between 1950 and 1953.

“This is the first time that North Korea’s leadership has publicly stated that it is impossible to achieve unification,” said North Korea expert and former researcher at South Korea’s Institute for National Unification, Park Young Ho.

According to observers, Kim’s comments also contained a veiled threat against the neighboring country. “Due to the enemy’s ruthless measures to invade our country, it is a fait accompli that war could break out on the Korean Peninsula at any time,” Kim said. North Korea’s military must prepare to “pacify the entire area of ​​South Korea” – if necessary with atomic bombs in the event of an attack, the ruler said. Washington denies Pyongyang’s accusation that it is preparing an attack with its allies.

South Koreans fear that they will also experience difficult times in the new year. The South Korean secret service recently warned of new provocations from North Korea in the run-up to the South Korean parliamentary elections in April and the US presidential elections in November.

In addition to expanding its nuclear arsenal and building military drones, North Korean reports also listed the launch of three more reconnaissance satellites as one of the key tasks for 2024. Kim stressed that North Korea must stick to its hard line of attack. According to reports, the launch of North Korea’s first spy satellite in November was a success. The country wants to be able to better monitor US movements with its own military satellites.

The US and its partners South Korea, Japan and Australia imposed new sanctions on North Korea because of the start. They accused Pyongyang of using technologies related to its intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program. North Korea’s development of ICBMs, whose range exceeds 5,500 kilometers, is primarily aimed at US nuclear power.

The conflict over North Korea’s weapons programs has become considerably more explosive again. After an unprecedented series of missile tests last year, the country will again test missiles, including ICBMs, several times in 2023. It also had nuclear armament enshrined in its constitution. The US and South Korea have expanded their military cooperation, including joint exercises. (sda/dpa)