N. Korea has history of diplomatic faux pas
By Jun Ji-hye
Kim Jong-un
North Korea’s abrupt cancellation of three scheduled concerts by a girl band from Pyongyang that was due to perform in Beijing has once again confirmed the diplomatic ineptitude, previously evident in other international incidents, of the repressive state’s young leader Kim Jong-un.
The all-girl Moranbong Band came together in 2012 after aides of Kim Jong-un were directed to form the group. The women returned to the North’s capital a few hours before they were due to perform their first international concert on Saturday. No explanation was given for the group’s sudden departure.
Cheong Seong-chang, a senior fellow at the Sejong Institute think tank, said, “The cancellation once again exposed Kim’s incompetence in diplomacy and lack of understanding of international society.”
He cited the fact that this is not the first instance of Kim’s incompetence in international dealings.
On May 20, the Kim Jung-un regime abruptly withdrew an earlier decision to permit U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to visit the joint industrial complex in the North’s border city of Gaeseong, only a day before Ban had planned to go.
At the time, Pyongyang did not provide a reason for the sudden cancelation either, and Ban expressed disappointment, saying “It was very regrettable.”
Criticism was also voiced in early August after former first lady Lee Hee-ho returned to Seoul empty-handed following a four-day visit to the North.
The visit by the 93-year-old, the widow of late former President Kim Dae-jung, was made at the invitation of Kim Jong-un, raising hopes that she might have met with him to discuss ways of improving inter-Korean relations.
But Kim remained out of sight during Lee’s visit ― he neither sat down for a discussion with her nor bothered to see her off when she left for the South. Kim didn’t even acknowledge her visit by sending any correspondence, prompting criticism that he showed diplomatic discourtesy to Lee.
Rep. Ha Tae-keung of the ruling Saenuri Party, a North Korean human rights activist-turned-lawmaker, at the time said that Lee was fooled by Kim’s unpredictable behavior.
“By not meeting Lee, Kim Jung-un de facto gave up unification between the two Koreas,” he said.
Lee’s husband, the late Kim Dae-jung, initiated the “Sunshine Policy” aimed at enabling reconciliation with the North when he was in office, and he maintained good relations with Kim Jong-il, father of the young leader.
Last December, the Kim regime again became a target of criticism from global society after it insulted the U.S. President Barack Obama by referring to him as “a monkey living in the rain forest.”
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