NK seeks to break out of isolation

By Rachel Lee

North Korea is seeking to boost traditional ties with a few countries, including China and Cuba, in an apparent bid to break out of international sanctions and isolation.

The move comes as South Korea is stepping up diplomacy with countries that have maintained close relations with North Korea, asking them to implement the toughest-ever U.N. Security Council (UNSC) sanctions.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un is apparently concerned about the South’s diplomatic prowess.

According to the North’s state-run Korean Central Television, Friday, Kim met with Cuban Vice President Salvador Valdes Mesa, who was visiting Pyongyang as a special envoy of Cuban President Raul Castro, Thursday.

The leader also delivered a congratulatory message to Chinese President Xi Jinping on the occasion of the 95th anniversary of the founding of China’s Communist Party, according to the Korean Central News Agency.

Kim said in the letter that his country was willing to “develop deep-rooted friendly relations with Chinese comrades as required by the new century.”

The leader stressed that the North was ready to “protect peace and security in Northeast Asia,” in an apparent bid to mend frayed relations with Beijing.

Pyongyang watchers say such a move came as it desperately felt the need to emerge from diplomatic isolation resulting from the UNSC’s tough sanctions on the North.

Kim Yong-hyun, a North Korean studies professor at Dongguk University in Seoul, said the beginning of the leader’s diplomatic efforts means he is trying to portray himself as a “normal” head of state.

Above all, Beijing is considered Pyongyang’s top priority to improve ties with, observers said.

Yang Moo-jin, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, said: “Kim Jong-un’s move as the head of the Commission on State Affairs implies both inside and outside the country he will be in charge of matters related to unification, diplomacy and national security.”

“Taking various circumstances into account, Kim Jong-un is highly likely to visit China this year.”

North Korea and China will celebrate the 55th anniversary of the signing of a friendship treaty on July 11 with a possible visit by high-ranking officials to Pyongyang in response to North Korean official Ri Su-yong’s recent trip to Beijing. Ri, vice chairman of the ruling Workers’ Party, went to China in an apparent bid to improve bilateral ties and create a rift in international commitments to the U.N. Security Council’s latest sanctions on Pyongyang.

Seoul has been making efforts to boost relations with the North’s former and current allies.

In May, President Park Geun-hye visited Iran and Uganda, which were accused of maintaining military ties with North Korea.

Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se visited Russia, another close ally of Pyongyang, and met with his counterpart Sergey Lavrov last month to discuss issues related to the North.

Before Moscow, the minister went to Cuba and held talks with Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez.