North Korea sends rare announcement to all Koreans, calls for unification

[webfact]

North Korea sends rare announcement to all Koreans, calls for unification

 

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un reacts as people applaud during his visit to the newly-remodeled Pyongyang Teacher Training College, in this photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang on January 17, 2018. KCNA/via REUTERS

 

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea sent a rare announcement addressed to "all Koreans at home and abroad" on Thursday, saying they should make a "breakthrough" for unification without the help of other countries, its state media said.

 

It said all Koreans should "promote contact, travel, cooperation between North and South Korea" while adding Pyongyang will "smash" all challenges against reunification of the Korean peninsula.

 

The announcement, issued after a joint meeting of government and political parties, added Koreans should wage an energetic drive to defuse the acute military tension and create a peaceful climate on the Korean peninsula.

 

Military tension on the Korean peninsula was a "fundamental obstacle" for the improvement of inter-Korean relations and unification, the North's official news agency said.

 

It added joint military drills with "outside forces" has shown to be unhelpful for the development of relations between North and South Korea.

 

North Korea did not provide details why the meeting had been held but the statement said it was aimed to support leader Kim Jong Un's remarks regarding unification from his New Year's address. It said this year is meaningful for both North and South Korea as it is the 70th anniversary of the founding of North Korea while South Korea will be hosting the Winter Olympics next month.

 

(Reporting by Christine Kim; Editing by Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Susan Thomas)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-01-25

[Get Real]

See how happy everyone is! How much they must love their great leader. (Note: If you don´t smile, you make me look bad! You don´t want that, do you?)

[Crossy]

Kim is up to something, a joint team at the Olympics and now a call for reunification.

 

Whatever it is, it's not going to include him stepping down.

 

[Briggsy]

8 minutes ago, Crossy said:

Kim is up to something, a joint team at the Olympics and now a call for reunification.

 

Whatever it is, it's not going to include him stepping down.

 

Absolutely classic North Korean tactics. Oscillate between totally uncompromising on the one hand and appearing conciliatory on the other.

 

They know the current South Korean government is not hardline and did indeed jump at the chance to 'negotiate'.

 

The immediate goal is usually financial. I would be surprised if the South Koreans are not paying a lot of money for the North to send an Olympic team. You do anything with North Korea, you have to pay them in the millions, be it with cash or grain or oil or whatever.

 

The long term goal is to create cracks in the U.S.-led military alliance opposing them.

[JaiMaai]

I'm sure everyone in the south will be falling over themselves to unite under his benign leadership.........

[canuckamuck]

Looks like Trump has brought this dog to heel.

[BuaBS]

North Koreans are getting hungry .

[Thaidream]

Kim has found the weakness to exploit in South Korea and that is the fact that President Moon can be swayed easily that N Korea really wants a unification that will be beneficial to both side. What Mr. Kim wants is unification with himself as the leader and his nuclear arsenal in tact.  This would give him unbridled power and thrust Korea into the superepower category both militarily and economically. It might even turn Kim into a Capitalist but certainly not a Democracy.

Kim will be on his best behavior through the Olympics and everyone will get on just fine.  His next request will be that since both Koreas are on the road to rapprochement- South Korea should cancel any further military training exercises with the United States and reopen SKoreas factories in the North in the special economic zone.Kim will remind the South Koreans that it was the pesky foreigners that caused a separation of the Koreas so why should we allow them to have a say in reunification

 

Kim's strategy is to drive a wedge between South Korea and the US as far as what tactics to use and at the same time get SKorea to start to send money to the North all with the hope of an eventual re-unification.

 

As much as I dislike Trump's bluster and provocations- it is obvious that Kim has no plans to give up his nuclear arsenal and wants reunification -North Korea style.

[trainman34014]

Pig Face is up to no good, just buying time for now.

[Dap]

It "might" very well be the opportunity to not miss, and I think should be 

considered at all the highest levels. Ya gotta' start somewhere and this

could be that somewhere. IMHO of course.

[Thechook]

And who will be the leader of a unified korea?

[mrwebb8825]

8 hours ago, Thechook said:

And who will be the leader of a unified korea?

And THAT will be where the talks break down. Moon has no balls but will certainly balk when Kim reaches for his wallet.