Kim Jong Un: N. Korea is preparing to put S. Korea under control

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un defined the two Koreas not as the same ethnic nations but warring countries against each other, seemingly making an official declaration to fundamentally change his viewpoint of South Korea. “War had become real on the Korean Peninsula,” Kim said. “We will make a continued effort to put South Korea under control, using all the physical measures and capabilities at his disposal, including nuclear weapons, in case of war.” Kim’s message with the harshest menace since he took power in 2012 is considered a signal that Pyongyang will carry out large-scale provocations before the general elections this April.

The Korean Central News Agency of North Korea reported on Sunday that Kim attended a plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea on Saturday where he said, “It does not match our national status if we end up discussing unification-related issues with a strange clan only working as an colonized underling of the United States just because of the rhetoric expressions that we are ethnically the same.” He clarified that the two Koreas are not the same ethnic groups but those hostile to each other in a state of combat. Replacing a New Year’s message, Kim’s remarks confirmed that Pyongyang would take a stringent stance on Seoul and Washington. Kim also said that the party concluded that the regime will never reunite with South Korean folk.

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Kyu-Jin Shin newjin@donga.com