Despite a summer of heightened tensions and stalled diplomatic talks, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in still managed to exchange well wishes over COVID-19 and recent storms.
The two leaders wrote letters to each other on Sept. 8 and Sept. 12, South Korea’s presidential Blue House revealed to NK News on Friday. The exchange marks the first known contact between the two leaders since Kim Jong Un sent condolences over COVID-19 in March.
In a Sept. 8 letter, Moon said he respected Kim Jong Un’s “strong willingness” to safeguard his people’s lives during COVID-19, the recent devastating floods and the multiple typhoons that hit North Korea and destroyed thousands of homes.
Moon sincerely felt for Kim as he watched him “visit disaster sites and console those under hardship,” and he also commended how Kim “aimed to be on the frontlines of damage relief” work after the storms.
“It is regrettable that reality makes us unable to help each other at a time like this, when every day is a crisis,” Moon wrote to Kim. “We will cheer each other up together as compatriots and overcome it.”
Kim responded to Moon’s letter some four days later, on Sept. 12. He reciprocated by advising the South Korean president to take “special care” of his health, adding that he is “concerned” that Moon has too many “heavy responsibilities” weighing on him.
Kim also remarked that it has been a while since Moon wrote to him, and that he understands South Korea is going through a lot between COVID-19 and the recent typhoons.
“I feel like I can know better than anyone else how arduous it must be for you, Mr. President — how much heavy pressure must be upon you and how much you must be struggling to overcome this hardship,” Kim said.
The North Korean leader also included a pep talk, stating that he “firmly believes” Moon will “overcome this crisis,” and that Moon has an “uncommon sincerity” about his country and his people.
He conveyed his “sincerity” in wanting to “share the difficulties and pain with the South and always be with [the South Korean people].” He also wished the entire country good health.
The letters mark a significant turn from earlier this summer, when North Korea stoked the fire by suddenly blowing up the inter-Korean joint liaison office on June 16. Around the same time, North Korea wrote off high-level diplomatic summits with the U.S. as useless and also turned its back on Moon. The South Korean president had pitched more inter-Korean cooperation projects as recently as this week, speaking at the U.N. General Assembly in a recorded speech.
In his letter, Kim Jong Un said that “good things will be waiting” for the two Koreas, and that he’s counting down the days until “the horrendous times of this year will pass.”
Despite a summer of heightened tensions and stalled diplomatic talks, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae-in still managed to exchange well wishes over COVID-19 and recent storms.
The two leaders wrote letters to each other on Sept. 8 and Sept. 12, South Korea’s presidential Blue House revealed to NK News on Friday. The exchange marks the first known contact between the two leaders since Kim Jong Un sent condolences over COVID-19 in March.
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Jeongmin Kim is the Lead Correspondent at NK News and Editorial Director at KOREA PRO, based in Seoul. Kim covers inter-Korean relations and North and South Korean foreign and military affairs. Kim has covered the 2022 ROK presidential election on the ground, and prior to joining NK News, she worked for the CSIS Korea Chair in Washington D.C. and Reuters news agency’s Seoul bureau.