North confirms the integration of inter-Korean affairs functions into its foreign ministry
Published: 08 Apr. 2026, 18:00
![North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center in the second row from back, presides over the first-day session of the 15th Supreme People’s Assembly in Pyongyang on March 22, during which he was reappointed as chairman of the state affairs commission, in this photo carried by the Korean Central News Agency on March 23. [YONHAP]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/04/08/ef37aee1-a5a3-4851-bde6-3b9d3b64787f.jpg)
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, center in the second row from back, presides over the first-day session of the 15th Supreme People’s Assembly in Pyongyang on March 22, during which he was reappointed as chairman of the state affairs commission, in this photo carried by the Korean Central News Agency on March 23. [YONHAP]
A recent North Korean statement confirmed that the country has reorganized its unit dealing with inter-Korean relations in line with its policy of defining South Korea as a "hostile" nation and integrated it into the foreign ministry, experts said on Wednesday.
In a rare late-night statement on Tuesday, Jang Kum-chol, a senior North Korean official long involved in inter-Korean affairs, issued a press statement refuting Seoul's claim of "meaningful progress" in relations with Pyongyang.
Jang called it a "fools' hope-filled dream reading," reacting to the South Korean Ministry of Unification's assessment that party department head Kim Yo-jong's swift response on Monday to President Lee Jae Myung's expression of regret over drone incursions into the North constituted "meaningful progress" toward peace on the Korean Peninsula.
The statement referred to Jang, formerly head of the ruling party's United Front Department, as first vice foreign minister and director general of the foreign ministry's "Tenth Department," confirming his appointment to the new post for the first time.
It also marked the first time that North Korea officially referred to the Tenth Department, which had been assessed as being in charge of inter-Korean affairs.
Since North Korean leader Kim Jong-un announced a new policy defining the two Koreas as separate countries "hostile" to each other rather than those seeking unification, the country has abolished party and government bodies handling inter-Korean relations, including the United Front Department.
Experts assess that Jang's appointment as first vice foreign minister indicates that the foreign ministry now handles inter-Korean affairs, a sign that Pyongyang may continue its policy of treating Seoul as a separate country rather than an object for unification.
Yonhap
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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