Alwaght- North Korea is confident that resumption of face-to-face talks with the South will probably lead to national reunification.
An article published by state newspaper Rodong Sinmun hailed the country's leader over the resumption of face-to-face talks with the South, saying Kim Jong Un's policy to improve relations were "brilliant" for "national reunification."
The paper noted that recent high-level talks "proved again that there is no problem unsolvable if the North and the South pool their efforts."
In talks Tuesday, the North agreed to send a delegation to next month's Winter Olympics in South Korea and to hold talks with Seoul to ease military tensions.
The latest talks follow months of escalation in rhetoric and saber-rattling between North Korea and the US.
The talks, held at the border village of Panmunjom in the Korean Peninsula's heavily fortified Demilitarized Zone, were the first face-to-face discussions between the two counties in more than two years.
Easing military tensions
The Rodong Sinmun article stressed the importance of "easing the acute military tension" between the North and the South, and of "creating a peaceful environment" on the Korean Peninsula to produce a "climate favorable for national reconciliation and reunification."
"It is the most positive policy for reunification, as it correctly reflects the immensely increased comprehensive national strength of the DPRK, ... the prevailing situation and the ever-growing desire for reunification," the article said, using the acronym for the North's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
The peninsula has been split between North and South since the late 1940s after World War II, and the Korean War of the early 1950s technically is still ongoing, as no formal peace treaty has been signed.
The article concluded that North Korea "will open the door of dialogue, contact and travel to anyone in South Korea, including the ruling party and opposition parties, organizations and individual personages of all backgrounds, if they truly want national reconciliation and unity."
North Korean leader won round one
Meanwhile, Russian president Vladimir Putin says the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has emerged a winner in the latest crisis around the Korean Peninsula. He believes Pyongyang is now trying to defuse tensions.
“I believe, Mr Kim Jong-un has certainly won this round,” Putin told journalists at a meeting with the Russian media. He said North Korea has achieved its strategic goal.
“He has a nuclear [charge] and a … missile with a range of up to 13,000 kilometers that can reach almost any place on Earth or at least any territory of his potential adversary,” Putin told journalists on Thursday.
The Russian president said the North Korean leader is likely to be seeking an easing of tensions in the region.
“He is already an absolutely shrewd and mature politician,” Putin added.
The latest crisis around the Korean Peninsula broke out in September 2017 after Pyongyang claimed it had conducted a hydrogen bomb test. The US responded to North Korean actions by flexing its muscles and conducting a number of military drills in the region with its allies South Korea and Japan. North Korea replied to this saber-rattling by conducting several missile tests, including one, according to Pyongyang, involving an intercontinental ballistic missile.
Pyongyang insists that developing its military defenses including nuclear weapons is important to counter incessant provocations by the US including a possible nuclear aggression.
