Date: Monday, June 2, 2025
Time: 10:30-10:33 A.M.
1. Q&A
Q. The presidential election is just around the corner, but North
Korean state media has made no mention of it. Has this been a pattern
in the past or is this a notable change?
A. The North has made no official comment on our presidential
election thus far. This appears to be due to the North’s 2023
declaration of inter-Korean relations as those between “two hostile
countries,” along with its ongoing efforts to erase any remaining
traces of unification.
As a point of reference, the North has typically reported the
outcome of our presidential elections within three or so days through
its state media. However, since this is the first election to take
place following the North’s declaration of a hostile two-state
relationship, it is difficult to predict when or how it will report
the results.
Q. North Korea issued a statement under the name of the chief of
external policy of its Foreign Ministry today, condemning the
publication of the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Team’s report as
a violation of sovereignty. What is the Unification Ministry’s assessment?
A. The North issued a similar statement under the name of its
Foreign Minister when the monitoring team was first launched a year
ago, followed by another statement this February from the chief of
external policy. The Ministry will not respond to each and every one
of the North’s groundless and absurd claims.
