| May
2. | - Kim Yo Jong, vice
department director of the Central Committee of the Workers’
Party of Korea (WPK) releases a statement regarding the
scattering of the leaflets critical of the DPRK from the
South.
･ “We regard the maneuvers committed by the
human wastes in the South as a serious provocation against
our state and will look into corresponding action.” “We can
no longer remain an onlooker.” |
| May 2. | - A spokesperson
for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the DPRK issues a
statement regarding the US’s statement on the occasion of
North Korea Freedom Week.
･ “The DPRK vehemently
denounces the provocation by the U.S. as a vivid
manifestation of the hostile policy toward the DPRK to
tarnish its image and as a crude violation of its
sovereignty.”
･ “The U.S. has now insulted the
dignity of our supreme leadership. This becomes an evident
sign that it is girding itself up for an all-out showdown
with the DPRK, and this is also a clear answer to how we
should approach the new administration in the U.S.”
･
“The U.S. will surely and certainly regret acting lightly,
defying our warnings.” |
| May
2. | - Kwon Jong Gun, director
general of the Department of US Affairs of the Foreign
Ministry of the DPRK, issues a statement regarding US
President Biden’s first policy speech to Congress.
･
“Intolerable is that the U.S. chief executive clarified his
DPRK stance this way in his first policy speech.” “Now that
what the keynote of the U.S.’s new DPRK policy is has become
clear, we will be compelled to press for corresponding
measures, and with time, the U.S. will find itself in a very
grave situation.” |
| May
3. | - U.S. Secretary of State
Antony J. Blinken
and Republic of Korea Foreign Minister Chung Eui-yong have a
meeting in London.
･ The heads of foreign affairs
agreed to continue to work closely together for a successful
ROK-US summit scheduled for May 21.
- Secretary
Blinken said that
President Biden is looking forward to meeting with President
Moon Jae-in. He went on to say that holding a face-to-face
ROK-US summit in the early days of President Biden’s
presidency in spite of the COVID-19 pandemic shows that the
United States places great importance on the ROK-US alliance
and that the alliance is developing into a comprehensive
relationship.
･ Secretary Blinken shared the outcome of
the U.S. policy review on North Korea with Foreign Minister
Chung, and Foreign Minister Chung welcomed the fact that the
outcome of the review had been determined in a practical and
substantive direction.
- The two agreed to continue
to closely coordinate actions towards complete
denuclearization and establishment of permanent peace on the
Korean Peninsula.
･ Foreign Minister Chung and
Secretary Blinken
also committed themselves to strengthening cooperation
between Korea’s New Southern Policy and the U.S. initiative
in the Indo-Pacific region as well as cooperation on
COVID-19 vaccines and global issues such as climate change
and democracy.
･ They noted that the series of
bilateral events, including the ROK-US Foreign Ministers’
Meeting and the ROK-US Foreign and Defense Ministerial
Meeting in March in Seoul; today’s in-person bilateral
meeting (May 3); and the upcoming ROK-US summit, indicate
how solid the alliance between the two countries truly is.
Both sides agreed to continue close communication and
collaboration with each other.” |
| May 5. | - Secretary of
State Antony J. Blinken, Japanese Foreign
Minister Motegi Toshimitsu, and Republic of Korea Foreign
Minister Chung Eui-yong have a meeting in London.
･
The heads of foreign affairs appreciated that their three
countries have closely communicated with each other on
issues of North Korea and the North Korean nuclear program
and agreed to further strengthen cooperation to make
substantial progress toward complete denuclearization and
establishment of permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula.
- Secretary Blinken shared the outcome of
the U.S. policy review on North Korea with his Korean and
Japanese counterparts. They committed to continue close
communication and cooperation in implementing North Korea
policy going forward.
･ The Secretary and the two
foreign ministers also reaffirmed the importance of the
ROK-US-Japan trilateral cooperation and committed to
continue mutually beneficial and forward-looking cooperation
to promote peace, security, and prosperity in the
region. |
| May 10. | - President Moon Jae-in gives a special
address to mark four years in office.
･ Fellow
Koreans. If there is a will, there is a way. It is the
aspiration of 80 million Koreans to end the era of
confrontation and conflict on the Korean Peninsula and usher
in an era of peace and prosperity. I consider the remaining
one year of my term to be the last opportunity to move from
an incomplete peace toward one that is irreversible.
･ Now, the time for long deliberations is also coming to an
end. It is time to take action. The new Biden administration
in the United States has also completed reviewing its North
Korea policy. This is the result of close consultation with
us. We welcome the direction of the Biden administration’s
North Korea policy, which aims to achieve the primary goal
of the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula
through diplomacy with a flexible, gradual, and practical
approach by building upon the foundation of the Singapore
Declaration.
･ The ROK-US alliance will be solidified
through the bilateral summit scheduled for late May. We will
restore dialogue between the two Koreas and between the
United States and North Korea and find a way to take another
step toward peaceful cooperation by more closely
coordinating policies on North Korea. I will not be pressed
by time or become impatient during the remainder of my term.
However, if there is an opportunity to restart the clock of
peace and advance the peace process on the Korean Peninsula,
I will do everything I can.
･ I look forward to North
Korea responding positively. I hope that we will be able to
build peace and move toward prosperity together. We have
seen clear potential for issues to be solved diplomatically.
･ I hope that the people will also join hands to
create an atmosphere for dialogue. In particular, it is
never desirable to dampen inter-Korean relations by
violating inter-Korean agreements and current laws. I stress
that the government has no choice but to strictly enforce
the laws. |
| May 16. |
- The Asian Football Confederation
(AFC) confirms the withdrawal of North Korea from the FIFA
2022 World Cup Asian qualifiers in South Korea.
･ “It
was confirmed that the DPR Korea Football Association
withdrew from the Asian Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup
Qatar 2022 and AFC Asian Cup China 2023. |
| May 21. | - ROK
President Moon Jae-in and US President Biden hold the
summit.
･ President Biden and President Moon
emphasize their shared commitment to the complete
denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and their intent to
address the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s (DPRK’s)
nuclear and ballistic missile programs. We call for the full
implementation of relevant UN Security Council resolutions
by the international community, including the DPRK.
President Moon welcomes the conclusion of the United States’
DPRK policy review, which takes a calibrated and practical
approach that is open to and will explore diplomacy with the
DPRK to make tangible progress that increases the security
of the United States and the Republic of Korea. We also
reaffirm our common belief that diplomacy and dialogue,
based on previous inter-Korean and U.S.-DPRK commitments
such as the 2018 Panmunjeom Declaration and Singapore Joint
Statement, are essential to achieving the complete
denuclearization and establishment of permanent peace on the
Korean Peninsula. President Biden also expresses his support
for inter-Korean dialogue, engagement, and cooperation. We
agree to work together to improve the human rights situation
in the DPRK and commit to continue facilitating the
provision of humanitarian aid to the neediest North Koreans.
We also share our willingness to help facilitate the
reunions of separated families of the two Koreas. We also
agree to coordinate our approaches to the DPRK in lockstep.
We underscore the fundamental importance of U.S.-ROK-Japan
trilateral cooperation for addressing the DPRK, protecting
our shared security and prosperity, upholding common values,
and bolstering the rules-based order. |
| May 31. | - The North
Korean media carries an article titled “What is the aim of
the termination of ‘missile guidelines’?” by Kim Myong Chol,
an international affairs critic.
･ “The U.S.,
doggedly branding the measures taken by the DPRK for
self-defense as a violation of UN ‘resolutions,’ grants its
allies unlimited right to missile development. It is
engrossed in confrontation despite its lip-service to
dialogue.”
･ “The termination step is a stark
reminder of the US hostile policy toward the DPRK and its
shameful double-dealing.”
･ “Lots of countries now
view the U.S.’s key DPRK policy, namely ‘practical approach’
and ‘maximum flexibility’ produced by the Biden
administration with much effort as just trickery.”
･
“We also take this opportunity to make mention of the chief
executive of South Korea putting himself within the
gun-sights of regional countries, saying he ‘is pleased to
report the termination of missile guidelines.’”
|
