Chung Dong-young Says North Korea's Threatening Statements Aim to Complete 'Borderization' as Scheduled

Unification Minister Chung Dong-young stated on October 27 regarding the intentions behind recent statements threatening South Korea issued by North Korean figures including Kim Yo-jong, a department director of the Workers' Party of Korea, "Judging from what has currently (HYUNJAE) emerged, there seems to be a strong intention to complete the 'borderization' project as scheduled and on time."

Minister Chung made the remarks in response to a related question from Representative Kwon Young-se of the People Power Party during the comprehensive audit by the National Assembly's Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee.

He added, "Through this (the 'borderization' work), they are revealing their intention to solidify a 'hostile state relation.'"

In response to Representative Kwon's criticism that Minister Chung's attitude of emphasizing dialogue despite such North Korean threats was "subservient" and "humiliating," the minister responded to the effect that emphasizing dialogue was not subservient, stating, "Returning (the Demilitarized Zone) to the state it was in before the suspension of the September 19 military agreement is the fundamental solution and benefits both the South and the North."

He continued, "For five years after the September 19 military agreement in 2018, there were no such incidents (like landmine explosions) in the DMZ," emphasizing, "The DMZ was managed peacefully. The possibility of accidental clashes was also reduced."

Regarding the DMZ landmine explosion, Minister Chung did not back down from his stance during the previous parliamentary audit on October 7, saying, "Linguistically speaking, the term 'landmine attack' is difficult to substantiate."

To repeated questions from Representative Park Choong-kwon of the People Power Party asking whether he considers it a provocation, Chung said, "The government has defined it as such," emphasizing, "Saying that it is difficult to specify it as a landmine attack means that we need to investigate further to determine whether it was intentional."

In response to Representative Kwon's question about whether he acknowledges North Korea's responsibility, he replied, "The government has defined it as such and seeks to determine responsibility for violating the Armistice Agreement."

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.