By Jun Ji-hye
The North Korean media is maintaining silence about a recent visit by three top aides of North leader Kim Jong-un to the South, while lauding the return of its athletes who did well in the Incheon Asiad which finished on Saturday.
On Monday, the North’s state-run newspaper Rodong Sinmun filled three pages, including the front page, with news of the athletes’ return to Pyongyang and a parade held in their honor in the capital’s downtown area.
The newspaper stated on its front page, “We congratulate our sons and daughters who displayed national strength and dignity.” It also stressed that the achievement was a result of the sports-focused policy of Kim Jong-un and the ruling Workers’ Party.
The Stalinist state finished seventh overall at the Incheon games, winning 11 gold medals. It finished in the top 10 for the first time in 12 years.
However, the newspaper did not include any mention of the surprise visit of military-party delegation from the North ― headed by Hwang Pyong-so, who is believed to be the Pyongyang’s second-most powerful man, along with Choe Ryong-hae, secretary of the Workers’ Party, and Kim Yang-gon who is in charge of the North’s relations with Seoul ― to South Korea.
The three visited Saturday to attend the closing ceremony of the Asiad.
The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) promptly reported the three’s visit to Seoul on Saturday morning and the Rodong Sinmun, the same on Sunday. Since then, however, the North’s state-sanctioned media has not reported anything about their return or what they did while here, arousing much speculation as to why they visited Seoul.
Watchers expect that the North’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, which handles inter-Korean affairs, may introduce the three’s activities in Seoul when it produces a proposal or states a position about South Korea in the near future.
The North Korean media, in the meantime, have stopped slandering South Korea and President Park Geun-hye since Saturday’s surprise visit.
During their visit, the South and North agreed to hold another round of high-level talks in late October or early November.
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