(News Focus) N. Korea takes cautious approach toward U.S. ahead of Trump's inauguration

▲ North Korean leader Kim Jong-un presides over the annual year-end general meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, held from Dec. 23-27, in this photo published by the Korean Central News Agency on Dec. 29, 2024. (For Use Only in the Republic of Korea. No Redistribution) (Yonhap)

(News Focus) N Korea-party meeting

(News Focus) N. Korea takes cautious approach toward U.S. ahead of Trump's inauguration

By Park Boram

SEOUL, Dec. 29 (Yonhap) -- This year's year-end party meeting in North Korea reaffirmed the country's hard-line policy toward the United States but included little substance, such as a nuclear threat, apparently opting to remain low-key ahead of Donald Trump's upcoming inauguration as president.

During the annual year-end general meeting of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, held from Monday to Friday, North Korea declared its "toughest" counteraction strategy toward the United States, the country's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported Sunday.

The meeting called the U.S. the "most reactionary" state, unwaveringly adhering to anti-communism as its national policy, and accused the military cooperation among Seoul, Washington and Tokyo of expanding into "a nuclear military bloc for aggression."

The KCNA also said that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un ordered the enhancement of the military's "capabilities for fighting a war" to meet the demands of modern warfare and the war scenario of enemies.

The country, however, did not specify what its "toughest" strategy toward the U.S. would be, nor did it reaffirm its push for nuclear weapons development or issue a nuclear threat, as it has in previous sessions.

At the previous plenary party meeting in late 2023, Kim delivered a sharp-tongued message toward the U.S., vowing an "offensive and ultra-powerful" stance and declaring, "We will not hesitate to take a critical action ... with our nuclear deterrence" in response to military provocations from Seoul and Washington.

Experts said that the message from this year's party meeting is more reserved compared to previous ones, as North Korea appears to be opting to remain cautious until the Trump administration's North Korea policy becomes clear

Trump's return for his second presidential term has sparked speculations that he may revive his summit-level personal diplomacy with Kim to address North Korea's nuclear threats.

Experts said North Korea may wait for the Trump administration to clarify its North Korea policy before deciding on its stance. Possibly in line with this, North Korea's state media have yet to report on Trump's presidential reelection.

"North Korea may issue its first stance toward the U.S. at the next session of the Supreme People's Assembly (scheduled for Jan. 22), after Trump's inauguration speech," Hong Min, a senior research fellow at the Korea Institute for National Unification, said

The 2024 party meeting also did not include direct messages toward South Korea.

The meeting accused South Korea of turning into "an out-and-out anti-communist outpost of the U.S," but made no further mention of Seoul, including about inter-Korean relations.

This contrasts with last year's meeting, where Kim declared that South Korea was no longer a counterpart for reconciliation and unification, concluding that unification with Seoul is not possible.

Experts noted that Pyongyang may have concluded that there is no need to further escalate tensions with Seoul amid its troops deployment for Russia as well as the impeachment of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol over a martial law plot.

It remains to be seen whether Kim will issue a separate New Year's message, as the results of the annual party meeting were released several days before the year-end. North Korea has typically disclosed them on the last or first day of the year as the leader's New Year's message.

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