North Korea’s Surprise Offering to the South: Presidential Flattery
Kim Jong Un swaps threats for praise, calling South Korean leader’s drone-incursion apology a wise move
- North Korean leader Kim Jong Un expressed unexpected appreciation for South Korean President Lee Jae Myung after Lee apologized for drone incursions.
- Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un’s sister, praised President Lee’s “very fortunate and wise behavior” following the apology, lowering tensions.
- A professor said the de-escalating rhetoric is unlikely to improve inter-Korean relations, despite President Trump’s planned China visit.
SEOUL—At a rare Workers’ Party congress recently, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un’s rhetoric grew fiery when discussing his southern neighbors. The South, he said, was the “immutable principal enemy.” Pyongyang, if provoked, could very well produce Seoul’s “complete collapse.”
That made Kim’s fresh assessment of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung all the more surprising.
The left-leaning Lee is a “frank and broad-minded” man, the North Korean leader believes, according to a new statement from his sister, Kim Yo Jong, who serves as the regime’s mouthpiece.
The unexpected appreciation resulted from Lee’s apology Monday over South Koreans having flown drones into North Korean airspace. Within hours, Kim Yo Jong conveyed her brother’s appreciation and praised Lee’s “very fortunate and wise behavior.” Lee’s office responded by hoping the “rapid” expression of intentions would lead to “peaceful coexistence on the Korean Peninsula.”
At a time when border states are firing at one another, North Korea’s abrupt friendliness—however fleeting—lowered the temperature between two countries still technically at war.
The Kim regime has little apparent reason to start a fight now, despite the U.S. having rotated some of the region’s air-defense capabilities and Marines to the Middle East.
At a Monday press conference, President Trump, while issuing threats to bomb Iran back to the stone ages, took time to tout his warm relationship with the North Korean leader.
Kim is unlikely to change his negative view of the South soon. Still, the compliments about Lee show Pyongyang’s wrath toward Seoul isn’t absolute.
The Kim regime appears to be managing the risk of escalation ahead of Trump’s planned visit to China in May, to refrain from stirring up trouble ahead of the high-stakes summit between the major powers, said Hwang Jihwan, a professor of international relations at the University of Seoul.
“But the de-escalating rhetoric is unlikely to move the needle for inter-Korean relations,” said Hwang.
Lee’s administration seeks to appease Pyongyang through offers of private-sector engagement and scaling back some combined military drills with the U.S. North Korea hasn’t responded to any of the overtures.
By Tuesday night, North Korea had reverted to form, as a senior official declared that Seoul’s interpretation of Kim Yo Jong’s statement as a friendly response was “nonsense” and a “hope-filled dream reading” of the warning by Pyongyang to prevent future drone incursions.
As if for emphasis, on Wednesday morning North Korea fired several short-range ballistic missiles into waters between the Koreas and Japan.