The North Still Confident

On Tuesday, the North Korean government-run media did not mention the nuclear test that took place the day before and left the peninsula in shock. .

North Korea acted in a different manner at the United Nations. North Korean diplomats present at the UN sought to justify the nuclear test and tried to win over as much support as possible. Smiles never left the faces of high-ranking North Korean diplomats in New York on Monday (Tuesday, Korean time). They were in high spirits after the nuclear tests.

The Mood in North Korea-

The communist party newspaper Rodong Sinmun did not report on the nuclear test and instead promoted unity surrounding the leader Kim Jong Il.

The editorial section of the paper said, “We must unite and unite again to defend the revolutionary nation which is led by our dear leader Kim Jong Il.” It went on to mention, “Due to the inappropriate hostility from the U.S. against our nation, the peninsula is being mired by dark clouds of war.” Although it criticized the U.S., it did not mention the nuclear weapons test. Another government-run newspaper Minju Chosun wrote, “We must embrace the party’s military-first policies and military-first leadership.”

Minju Chosun also stated, “The road to greater prosperity lies in military-first policies. We must set our priorities on our defense industry and focus on arming and fortifying the whole nation. We must make ourselves like a porcupine that cannot be attacked.”

Its editorial section emphasized, “We must strengthen our unity. Unity is the party’s founding philosophy and basis of the military-first policy. We must trust our leader Kim Jong Il and have complete faith in the revolutionary leadership.”

Many speculated that the date of the nuclear test was set for October 9 to set the mood for the party anniversary celebrations, but things are relatively quiet and there is not much celebrating going on.

In a report titled, “The Trend of the 61st Party Anniversary Event,” the Ministry of Reunification confirmed that the event was small both in content and size compared to the one held last year. Diplomats stationed in North Korea said that there were only small parties and small worship ceremonies at memorials marking the establishment of the party.

The Mood at the UN Headquarters-

North Korea`s U.N. Ambassador Pak Gil Yon, who visited the UN headquarters to participate in the First Committee of the UN General Assembly, was all smiles on Monday (Tuesday, Korean time). He maintained that the Security Council should congratulate our scientists and researchers, instead of drafting evil and useless resolutions and the chairman`s statement.

North Korean diplomats are also engaged in promoting their point of view regarding the nuclear weapons test. Ambassador Pak, in a speech during the First Committee, said, “We had no choice but to attain nuclear weapons capability because of threats from the U.S. We could protect our sovereignty and maintain peace in the peninsula thanks to our military-first policy.”

Showing off promotional savvy uncharacteristic of the North Korean team at the UN, it placed an English version of the statement officially announced by the North Korean Central News Agency on Monday that first announced that the nuclear weapons test took place.

However, when asked if more nuclear weapons tests could take place in the future, the North Korean team remained silent. Ambassador Pak dodged the question and replied, “We will take all the possible measures.”

Deputy UN ambassador Han Song Ryol, who has so far been the “mouth” of the North Korean team, said, “No comment.” Deputy Ambassador Han will end his service in New York and return to North Korea soon.

When asked if North Korea would act differently if the U.S. ended financial sanctions, he replied, “I do not have the right to talk, because I will soon leave this position. The financial sanctions are at the root of this problem and we might act differently, but I doubt U.S. will ever do so.”

kong@donga.com