“North Korea’s continuous talks after the landmine explosion are intended to put a burden on South Korea as an excuse for severance.”

Korea Institute for National Unification, analysis of five statements by Kim Yo-jong... “Converting individual issues into a macro-hostile frame”

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Bo-ram Yoon = An analysis has emerged that North Korea's Workers' Party leader Kim Yo-jong's series of statements after the mine explosion in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) were aimed at converting individual issues into a macro-hostile frame and putting a burden on the South Korean government's policy choices.

On the 21st, the Korea Institute for National Unification released a report analyzing the content and aspects of five statements made by Director Kim, published one after another from the 29th of last month to the 19th of this month.

In his statement, Director Kim defined South Korea's investigation into the mine explosion in the DMZ as a hostile act and even criticized the push for medical aid to North Korea as a "variated political provocation" and an "act of sovereignty infringement."

Furthermore, in the statement on the 9th of this month, two issues with completely different characteristics were intertwined as a 'serial farce' and 'two sides of the same coin', integrating Korea's actions into a consistent hostile narrative. At the same time, it reaffirmed its policy of ignoring and excluding Korea using the justification of 'delegation by the head of state' and 'consensus of the people'.

In the statement on the 19th of this month, this hostile frame was focused on the issue of military tension on the southern border, and the South Korean military's loudspeaker warning broadcasts and warning shots were connected to the existing 'landmine explosion play'. They also publicly mentioned strengthening tactical strike methods and considering resuming loudspeaker broadcasts to South Korea.

The report said, “What is noteworthy in these discourses is not the level of criticism, but the way in which criticism is structured and accumulated,” and analyzed that the discourse expanded step by step by converting individual issues into a macro-hostile frame and using them as a justification for severance.

He continued, "North Korea's discourse strategy puts a structural burden on our government's policy choices by tying all of South Korea's military responses and proposals for dialogue and cooperation with hostile intent," and added, "It shows that North Korea has no intention of responding to any proposals at this stage, suggesting that it is an environment in which it is difficult to bring about a change in attitude in a short period of time with only good-intentioned proposals."

The report said, "It is essential for the government to have a long-term approach and strategic consistency that do not give a shit about North Korea's one-sided discourse offensive," and suggested, "Strategic patience is needed to go beyond North Korea's structured hostile frame and accumulate the results of sustainable peaceful coexistence on the basis of tightly maintaining stable situation management in the border area."