Date: Monday, June 13, 2022
Time: 10:30-10:37 A.M.

 

1. Regarding North Korea’s 5th plenary meeting of the 8th Party Central Committee

 

The 5th plenary meeting of the 8th Central Committee of the Workers' Party(WPK) was held for three days from June 8 to 10.

 

On June 11, North Korea reported that at the 5th plenary meeting, it proposed and discussed a total of four agenda items including organizational matters, interim review and measures of the major state policies for 2022, emergency anti-epidemic tasks, and amendments to the party rules.

 

Overall, it is indicated that North Korea evaluated its achievements in each field and offered future directions while maintaining the internal and external strategic stance announced at 8th Party Congress.

 

North Korea reconfirmed its hard stance towards the South and foreign countries, however, did not elaborate on specific details. Therefore, it is necessary to follow-up on developments in North Korea.

 

The Government cannot tolerate any actions by North Korea that threaten peace on the Korean Peninsula, and thus will respond decisively to any further provocations in close cooperation with the United States.

 

In addition, we are ready to discuss all pending issues between the two Koreas through dialogue as we have repeatedly mentioned, we urge North Korea to respond to our proposals.

 

2. Minister’s Schedule

 

On June 15, Minister Kwon will provide congratulatory remarks at a unification policy forum hosted by the Korean Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation celebrating the June 15 Joint Declaration at 2 P.M. which will be participated and read by Vice Minister Kim on his behalf.

 

On the same day at 2:30P.M., the Minister will attend and deliver congratulatory remarks to commemorate the 22nd anniversary of the June 15 Inter-Korean Summit to be held at the Kim Dae-Jung Presidential Library and Museum of Yonsei University.

 

Commemorating the month of Patriots and Veterans, Minister Kwon will visit the VHS Medical Center on June 15 to express gratitude and consolation for the sacrifice and dedication of people with distinguished service to the state and provide words of encouragement to staff members at the Center.

 

3. Q&A

 

Q. The Secretariat of the Central Committee of the WPK held a meeting shortly after the Party’s plenary meeting, and the contents of the meeting were reported today through the North Korean media. How does the Ministry evaluate the result of this meeting and is it unusual for such a series of meetings to be held consecutively?

 

A. As reported today, the Secretariat meeting chaired by General Secretary Kim Jong Un was held after the 5th plenary meeting and we do not consider unusual that the North held such a series of meetings. The North seems to bolster the control system by strengthening the party rules to carry out the plenary meeting’s decisions.

 

Q. How does the Ministry analyze the status of the secretariat within the WPK?
Also, it has been about a month since the North Korean authorities acknowledged the outbreak of Covid-19. How do you examine the North’s current situation?

 

A. At the 8th Party Congress in January 2021, North Korea revised its rules and changed the previous Executive Policy Bureau to the Secretariat. It seems a bit difficult to judge that there is a change on the status of the Secretariat since the Executive Policy Bureau meetings had been held constantly in the past.

 

 Regarding the Covid-19 situation, North Korea announced that the number of new fever cases has decreased to the 30,000 level, and the number of deaths remains at 1 or 0.

 

 Today’s report particularly said the number of people in quarantine and under treatment is about 65,000, the lowest since May 12, when the North first released the statistics.

 

 Therefore, we can gauge that the situation is improving looking at the North Korea’s announce alone. If such report trend continues, there is a possibility that North Korea may declare that the Covid-19 crisis is resolved before the end of June.

 

Q. The North Korean report suggested that the Secretariat meeting dealt with the issue of bureaucratism and the need for strong discipline system among party officials. What is the Ministry’s take on this?

 

A. Establishing discipline is what North Korea has been emphasizing since Kim Jong Un took power. As similarly mentioned at the plenary meeting, the North appears to strengthen the control mechanism in order for the party to play a central role in implementing the decisions of the plenary meeting.