통일부

President's New Year's Address (on Inter-Korean Relations)
･ “In the midst of a war crisis, it opened the door for dialogue and created a path to peace. Although there is still an unfinished task on peace, and tensions are sometimes created, the situation on the Korean Peninsula is being managed more stably than ever before. As a divided country that has been through war, we value peace more than anything else. Peace is an indispensable requirement for prosperity. However, if peace is not institutionalized, the situation gets difficult. We will make our best efforts until the end. We must not forget that peace we have now was difficult achieve and sustained by the inter-Korean dialogue and the North Korea-US dialogue.” ;
･ “We will continue to institutionalize the unfinished task on peace into a sustainable peace until the end of my term of office. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the July 4 South-North Joint Declaration, which declared the spirit of inter-Korean dialogue aimed at peaceful unification as the first official agreement between the South and North Korean governments. Peace, prosperity and unification are the aspirations of all Koreans. In inter-Korean relations, we have gone through a difficult time during the tenure of our government. Many achievements have been made, but there is still a long way to go. Now is a time when the determination and cooperation of the South and the North are of paramount importance. If we talk and cooperate again, the international community will also respond. If given the opportunity, our government will seek a path to stablization of inter-Korean relations and peace until the end, and I hope that the next government will continue to achieve dialogue.”

Crossing the border to North Korea in Gangwon Eastern Front

North Korea fires one ballistic missile into the East Sea from Mupyong-ri, Jagang-do
･ “We expressed concern over this launch, which took place at a time when political stability at home and abroad is very critical,” “It is important to resume dialogue with North Korea” (Press Release of NSC Standing Committee Emergency Meeting)

Groundbreaking Ceremony for Donghae Line Gangneung-Jejin Railway Construction (President's Remarks)
･ “Peace on the Korean Peninsula does not just happen. Tensions are sometimes created on the Korean Peninsula. This morning, North Korea test-fired an unknown short-range projectile. There are concerns that this could create tension and deepen the stagnation in inter-Korean relations. However, we should not let go of dialogue to fundamentally overcome this situation. North Korea should also make more serious efforts for dialogue.”

North Korea Olympic Committee, Ministry of Sports, notified of non-participation in Beijing Winter Olympics (Jan.7, Rodong Sinmun and Korean Central News Agency)

(local) The French Senate adopted a resolution urging the French government to adopt a declaration to end the Korean War

North Korea reports hypersonic missile test launch (Jan.5) (Rodong Sinmun and Korean Central News Agency)

(local), a private meeting of the United Nations Security Council on North Korean missiles

North Korea fires one ballistic missile into the East Sea from Jagang-do
･ “We express our regret for the launch, which took place at a time when political stability was very critical,” “We urge North Kore to respond promptly to the resumption of dialogue and cooperation” (Press Release of NSC Standing Committee Emergency Meeting)

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un observes hypersonic missile test launch (Jan. 11) (Rodong Sinmun and Korean Central News Agency)
･ “Achieved great success in hypersonic weapons development, which has the most important strategic significance among the five core tasks of the Five-Year Defense Force Development Plan presented by the 8th Party Congress.”

(local), the U.S. Department of the Treasury imposed new sanctions targets for seven individuals and one organization related to the development of North Korean weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles.
･ (Individual) Myung-hyeon Choi, Young-ho Oh, Kwang-seok Shim, Seong-hoon Kim, Cheol-hak Kang, Kwang-chul Byun, Roman Anatolyevich Alar, (Organization) Russian organization Parsek

A statement by a spokesperson for the North Korean Foreign Ministry (Korean Central News Agency)
･ “The United States is intentionally exacerbating the situation by taking our legitimate activities to the UN Security Council, causing accusations and even invoking unilateral sanctions.”
･ “It is a clear provocation and a theory of robbery for the United States to question our legitimate exercise of self-defense.”
･ “If the United States takes such a confrontational stance, we will have to respond more strongly and clearly.”

North Korea fires two ballistic missiles into the East Sea from Uiju, Pyonganbuk-do
･ “We once again express our regret over North Korea’s successive missile test launches” and “Urge North Korea to respond to dialogue immediately” (Press Release of NSC Standing Committee Emergency Meeting)

North Korea conducts censorship and firing drills for railway mobile missile regiments (Jan.14) (Rodong Sinmun and Korean Central News Agency)

North Korea fires two ballistic missiles in the East Sea from Pyeongnam area
･ “It is very regrettable that North Korea has launched missiles four times in a row this year,” “Above all, it is imperative to start dialogue immediately” (Press Release of NSC Standing Committee Emergency Meeting)

Resumption of North-China freight train operation

North Korea conducts inspection and firing test for tactical guided missiles (Jan.17) (Rodong Sinmun and Korean Central News Agency)

North Korea Hosts the 6th Politburo Meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the North Korean Party (Jan.20, Rodong Sinmun and Korean Central News Agency)
･ “The United States hostile policy and military threat have reached a critical level that cannot be tolerated any longer.”
･ “We need to be more thoroughly prepared for a long-term confrontation with The United States imperialism.”
･ “The Politburo re-posted the defense policy tasks to strengthen and develop powerful physical means to firmly suppress the hostile acts against the DPRK, which are becoming increasingly dominant by the United States, without delay. We have forwarded instructions to the relevant sector to review the issue of fully reconsidering the confidence-building measures that we took proactively and resuming all activities that were temporarily suspended.”

President Moon Jae-in's written interview with Egyptian newspaper, 'Al-Ahram' on his visit to Egypt
･ “Peace has not yet been institutionalized. Given the current situation, it doesn’t seem easy.”
･ “I will continue to work for peace until the last minute of my presidency.”

(local) a private meeting of the to the UN Security Council members on the North Korean missile launch

North Korea launches two cruise missiles

North Korea fires two short-range ballistic missiles into the East Sea from Hamhung, Hamgyongnam-do
･ “We expressed our regret that North Korea’s series of missile launches go against the requests of the international community and Korea for peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula and in the region.” “We urge North Korea to respond promptly to resolving this issue.” (Press Release of NSC Standing Committee Emergency Meeting)

Constitutional Court ruling on Gaeseong Industrial Complex suspension measures as constitutional

North Korea reports cruise missile launch (Jan.25) and ballistic missile launch (Jan.27) (Rodong Sinmun and Korean Central News Agency)

North Korea fires one medium-range ballistic missile into the East Sea from Mupyong-ri, Jagang-do
･ “The President said that it could be seen as a challenge to the international community's efforts for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, and a diplomatic solution, as well as a violation of the UN Security Council resolutions. We urged North Korea to stop creating tension and pressure and to respond to proposals for dialogue from the international community, including our country and the United States.” (Result of the NSC emergency meeting presided over by the president)
･ “We condemn this as a challenge to the UN Security Council resolutions and the international community's request for a diplomatic solution to the denuclearization and peace and stability of the Korean Peninsula,” “We urge North Korea to immediately halts actions that create tension on the Korean Peninsula and cause instability in the region, to maintain the moratorium together and to respond immediately to a diplomatic solution through dialogue.” (Result of the NSC Standing Committee)

North Korea conducts inspection and firing test of medium-long-range ballistic missile ‘Hwasong-12’ (January 30) (Rodong Sinmun and Korean Central News Agency)