Page 28 - 2020 Defence White Paper

economic hardships aggravated by the prolonged sanctions and the pandemic and
seek internal solidarity by strengthening its ideological armament and internal
control. In particular, it is estimated that North Korea will continue to advance its
nuclear and missile capabilities in the name of strengthening its self-reliant defense
capabilities and exert all efforts in achieving economic results by mobilizing all
available manpower and resources with the goal of substantially improving the lives
of the residents by 2022 which will be the 110th anniversary of Kim Il-sung’s birth.

Inter-Korean Policy The conditions for inter-Korean dialogue to resume were
prepared as North Korea sent a delegation to the 2018
Winter Olympics in response to the ROK government’s efforts to establish peace on
the Korean Peninsula including the Berlin Initiative in July 2017. Based on this, an
inter-Korean summit was held on April 27 for the first time in 11 years since 2007,
leading to the adoption of the Panmunjeom Declaration. Another summit was held in
Pyongyang from September 18 to 20, where the two Koreas agreed on the September
Pyongyang Joint Declaration ("Pyongyang Joint Declaration") and the Agreement on
the Implementation of the Historic Panmunjom Declaration in the Military Domain
("September 19th Military Agreement").

In 2019, North Korea defined the Panmunjom Declaration, the Pyongyang Joint
Declaration, and the September 19th Military Agreement as a de facto declaration of
non-aggression in its New Year’s Address, and raised expectations for inter-Korean
reconciliation and cooperation by showing its willingness to reopen the Kaesong
Industrial Complex and resume tours to Mt. Kumgang.
After the breakdown of the US-North Korea Hanoi Summit in February 2019,
however, North Korea has become passive towards inter-Korean dialogue and
exchanges, and Chairman Kim on April 12 urged the South Korean government
to promote an independent policy toward the North in his keynote address at the
Supreme People’s Assembly.
Since then, while arguing that the ROK’s force enhancement activities such as the
introduction of F-35s and ROK–US combined exercises are in violation of the inter-
Korean military agreement and that they are causes of exacerbation in inter-Korean
relations, North Korea is generally complying with the Comprehensive Military
Agreement(CMA), including the implementation of measures to prevent accidental
clashes on land and at sea.
While the North Korea did not respond to the ROK’s proposal for inter-Korean
dialogue and cooperation, Chairman Kim on October 23 visited Mt. Kumgang
and ordered the demolition of facilities of ROK companies. In November, coastal

2020 Defense White Paper