It is known that the high-level communication channels between the two Koreas, known to have been operated during North Korea’s successive missile provocations, are highly likely to be Park Ji-won, director of the National Intelligence Service, and Kim Yo-jong, deputy director of the Workers’ Party of Korea.
On the 23rd, a high-ranking government official said in a phone call with Maeil Economic Daily, “We are still communicating with North Korea.” The National Intelligence Service also reported this to the National Assembly Intelligence Committee on the 21st. It is understood that communication between the two sides is being conducted between Director Park of the South and Vice-Chairman Kim, who oversees all aspects of foreign affairs and foreign affairs in the North. However, the official declined to comment, saying, “It is difficult to talk about details regarding high-level communication between the two Koreas.” So far, it seems that inter-Korean communication through the channel has not reached in-depth content, including official dialogue and resumption of negotiations. In the phone call that day, he explained that close consultations are also being held between the ROK and the U.S. at a time when North Korea is under strong pressure on the possibility of resuming strategic weapons tests such as nuclear tests and intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) test launches. “The alliance between South Korea and the United States is stronger than ever, and calls are made every day (at the senior level),” he said. Some raised the possibility that the government is continuing its efforts to reach a consensus with the North on the ‘institutionalization of peace’ that President Moon Jae-in said through high-level communication channels. Another government official said, “For North Korea, the current situation, with the crisis escalating ahead of the Beijing Winter Olympics, will be a favorable time for both dramatic armed demonstrations and a shift toward dialogue.”
The government seems to be contemplating ways to institutionalize peace in various forms, not limited to the declaration of an end to the war, which has been emphasized previously. Substantializing the 9/19 military agreement between the two Koreas is also mentioned as one of the options.
On the other hand, the official said, “I know that there are signs of such a possibility” about the possibility of resuming the US-DPRK dialogue that has been raised by some. Although the dialogue is not clearly in the process of resuming, it is interpreted that both sides are fiercely exploring possibilities for dialogue.
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