North Korea has halted operation of a state-run radio station believed to be used for sending coded messages to its “spies” in South Korea, according to a report. This came after North Korea called the neighboring country its “principal enemy.”
The state-run Pyongyang Radio, along with its website, appeared to have ceased operation on Jan. 13, South Korean media outlet Yonhap News Agency reported.
According to the report, the North Korean radio station was previously known for broadcasting coded numbers, which are believed to be coded messages intended for its agents in South Korea.
This came as North Korean officials “in charge of affairs with enemies” held a meeting on Jan. 13 to decide on readjusting organizations involved in promoting North–South relations, according to the Korean Central News Agency.
These organizations include the North Side Committee for Implementing the June 15 Joint Declaration, the North Headquarters of the Pan-National Alliance for Korea’s Reunification, and the Consultative Council for National Reconciliation.
The meeting also called for a reunification policy that identifies “South Korean puppets” seeking the “collapse of the DPRK’s power” and “unification by absorption” as the “main enemy of the DPRK to be completely wiped out.”
Since the 1950–53 Korean War ended in a stalemate, both nations have had policies that treat each other differently than other countries.
That has included relying on special agencies and ministries for inter-Korean relations rather than their foreign ministries and embracing policies for a future peaceful reunification, usually envisioning a single state with two systems.
North Korea Vows ‘Decisive Policy Change’
However, in remarks at a year-end party meeting on Dec. 30, 2023, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said peaceful reunification is impossible and that the government would make a “decisive policy change” in relations with the “enemy.”
He said the relationship between the two Koreas is “no longer a kinship or homogeneous relationship but has completely become a relationship between two hostile countries, two belligerents at war.”While the shelling caused no damage, those areas are marine buffer zones where shelling is prohibited under the North–South military agreement.
“This is an act of provocation that escalates tension and threatens peace on the Korean peninsula,” South Korea’s Defense Minister Shin Won-sik said in a statement.
Responding to the provocations, South Korea sent troops to the two islands and held an artillery drill.
A spokesman for the U.S. Department of State condemned North Korea’s firing of artillery shells as a “provocative act” and called on Pyongyang to act with “restraint and not to lead to geographic instability” and to engage in a dialogue to ease the tense situation.
The United States will continue to work with South Korea and Japan to strengthen its military containment capabilities, he said.
South Korea has also suspended part of the accord that limits its reconnaissance and surveillance operations along the DMZ after North Korea defied warnings against launching a spy satellite into orbit.
