Successive Statements Issued: "Why Imagine We Would Do Anything to Get Involved with South Korea?"

[Anchor]

North Korea's Kim Yo-jong has once again issued a statement regarding the landmine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) along the western front. Denying responsibility for the incident, she asked why anyone would imagine they would do anything to get involved with South Korea, while mocking President Lee Jae-myung for acting out a "righteous role."

Reporter Kim A-young reports.

[Reporter]

Kim Yo-jong, vice department director of the Workers' Party of Korea, released statements regarding the landmine explosion twice in succession yesterday (October 2).

Addressing the South Korean military's interim investigation findings that pointed to a "North Korean landmine," she disparaged them as "utterly pathetic," stating that the South had concluded it was an "intentional landmine placement" and even demanded an apology.

She continued by writing that the "border fortification" work aims to "shut the door for good," asking, "Why do you imagine that we would have done something to get entangled with South Korea?"

She effectively argued that since North Korea defined inter-Korean relations as "two hostile states" and declared a total cutoff in 2023, there is no reason to intentionally lay landmines and provoke the South.

[Hong Min / Senior Research Fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification: Having expressed the intention not to associate with the South, North Korea has no reason to act with deliberate intention, so from the perspective of motive, she is virtually denying the incident itself.]

Regarding the remarks made by President Lee Jae-myung at the Armed Forces Day ceremony the day before yesterday (October 1):

[President Lee Jae-myung (Armed Forces Day Ceremony, October 1): We will consistently pursue practical measures to lower military tensions between the South and the North.]

Kim mocked them as "the climax of a farce and the second part of a self-made farce," adding, "I hope he gains a lot of popularity by playing the 'righteous role.'"

Regarding Minister of Unification Chung Dong-young's proposal to meet to discuss the standards of the Military Demarcation Line, she dismissed it as "delusion and rambling not even worth responding to."

Her remarks are also seen as an attempt to shut down South Korea's conciliatory overtures and block any room for Seoul to intervene in future developments, such as potential North Korea-U.S. dialogue.

Cheong Wa Dae expressed its position that slanderous language does not help build mutual trust, stressing that the resumption of dialogue and communication is necessary.

Video by Jeong Seong-hun | Graphics by Kang Yoon-jeong
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.