| January
12. | - Kim Yo Jong, vice
department director of the Central Committee of the WPK,
issues a statement regarding the 8th Party Congress.
･“What is strange is that the Joint Chiefs of Staff of South
Korea made a senseless statement that they detected the
North holding a military parade at midnight on January 10
and they are in the middle of precision tracking.”
|
| January 14. | - North Korea holds a military parade
celebrating the 8th Party Congress.
|
| January 17. | - The 14th
Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) of North Korea holds its 4th
session.
･The SPA discussed its latest organizational
reshuffle, the five-year plan for national economic
development, and the fulfillment of the state budget for
Juche 109 (2020) and the state budget for Juche 110
(2021). |
| January 18. |
- ROK President Moon Jae-in holds a
New Year’s press conference.
･“I am willing to meet
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un at any time and any place.
If the meetings between the leaders of the two Koreas
continue and trust builds, Kim will visit Seoul someday.”
･“The joint ROK-US exercises are a matter that can be
discussed within the framework of the peace process on the
Korean Peninsula for denuclearization and establishment of
peace on the Korean Peninsula. The two Koreas already agreed
to discuss the joint ROK-US drills through a joint
inter-Korean military committee. If necessary, we can
discuss it with the North through a joint inter-Korean
military committee.” |
| January
21. | - President Moon Jae-in
makes opening remarks at the plenary meeting of the NSC and
at the work reports of ministries.
･“The peace
process on the Korean Peninsula is not an option but a path
we must take. I urge you to do your best to get the clock of
peace ticking again by breaking the deadlock in U.S.-North
Korean and inter-Korean talks and by quickly ending the long
stalemate that followed the collapse of the U.S.-North
Korean summit in Hanoi.” |
| January 26. | - President
Moon Jae-in speaks with President Xi Jinping of China on the
phone (a written briefing by a spokesperson for the Blue
House).
･Regarding the situation on the Korean
Peninsula, President Moon Jae-in “requested Beijing to play
a constructive role in resolving issues through dialogue.”
President Xi Jinping said that he “supports inter-Korean and
North Korea-U.S. talks.”
･President Xi said that
“North Korea’s position, announced to the outside world at
the 8th Party Congress, is that it has not closed the door
on talks with the United States and South Korea,”
emphasizing that “the situation on the Korean Peninsula is
generally stable.” |
