Guessing North Korea's Purpose To Blow Up The Communications Liaison Office With South Korea

Illustration (Source: Jens Johnsson / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - North Korea blew up a liaison office used to communicate with South Korea. The reconciliation that has been built by the Korean state for almost three years has gone backwards. Speculation regarding the intent of this North Korean action then emerged.

North Korean state media reported that a four-story building located in Kaesong City, the northern demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, was blown up at 2:50 a.m. yesterday. You could see smoke rising above the place from the South Korean side of the border shortly after the incident.

According to CNN, which summarizes many expert opinions, there is a purpose behind the destruction of the North Korean border office. It is suspected that this was done to encourage dialogue again between South Korea and North Korea. But this time on North Korean soil. This symbolic may be a turning point in the relationship between the two countries that have committed to starting a new era of peace three years ago.

North Korea says its decision to destroy the liaison office was retaliation against South Korea. Because he is suspected of being the mastermind behind the spread of anti-North Korean agitation leaflets by a group of defectors in the northern demilitarized zone.

North Korea described the incident as "a dumb and dumb act that recently undermined the dignity of our highest leadership," wrote a government statement quoted by KCNA on Tuesday. "The world has clearly seen what severe punishment our people will impose on the South Korean side and how they remove human waste from the earth," it wrote.

North Korea claims the leaflets violate an agreement reached by Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in at their first summit in 2018. At that time they agreed to stop all hostile actions, including the spread of agitation.

Before relations broke down again, the liaison office was reopened and refurbished as part of an agreement to help the two Koreas communicate. But reconciliation efforts were pushed back again when North Korea announced last week that it would cut all communications with South Korea. After that they also announced that they would return to deploy troops to the Korean border.

Meanwhile, Kim Yo Jong, Kim Jong Un's younger brother, demanded that the South Korean government punish defectors whom he called "traitors," "human trash" and other expletives. "(They) dare to offend the majesty of our Supreme Leader whose dignity is extraordinary," he said last Saturday.

South Korean response

Previously, the liaison office had been closed since January 30 because of the outbreak of the new coronavirus, according to South Korea's Unification Ministry. South Korean staff have not visited the building since then.

An official at the South Korean Presidential Building called the blowing up of the liaison office an "act of treason against the hopes of all those who desire improved inter-Korean relations and a settlement of peace on the Korean Peninsula". Following up on the matter, South Korea's Ministry of Defense said it was monitoring North Korea's armed forces and would respond very well to any military provocation.

Still according to CNN, experts said the leaflets likely angered North Korean political leaders. But by Tuesday, a number of analyzes mourned North Korea deliberately creating trouble to create a crisis. Similar tactics Pyongyang has used before, when it creates urgency for political negotiations to sow discord between the United States and South Korea.

Meanwhile, South Korean authorities said they were investigating the defectors who sent the leaflets. On Monday, Moon Jae-in said it was very important for North Korea to return to the negotiating table rather than to a period of confrontation.

"South and North Korea must maintain their optimistic beliefs and take every step towards national reconciliation, peace and unification," said Moon. "The promise of peace on the Korean Peninsula made by Chairman Kim Jong Un and I, in front of 80 million Korean people, cannot be canceled," he concluded.