is reported to have banned performances of the song “Glad to Meet You,” long seen as a symbol of reconciliation on the .
And while banning a song that dates from a time of greater North-South cooperation may seem insignificant by itself, analysts say it’s part of an unmistakable trend of Pyongyang .
The song — “Bangapseumnida” in Korean — was first performed in 1991 during a tour by the Pochonbo Electronic Ensemble of Japan.
Free of the political slogans of most North Korean songs, it hinted that Pyongyang wanted better relations with other countries and was played at North-South meetings aimed at improving bilateral ties.
Kyodo News reported on Tuesday that North Korean leader has banned the song as revisions to the constitution last year mean that is now designated the North’s “.”
There have been other similar moves — some small, some large — to erase any hint of fraternal feelings for the South and its people. The North has altered the words to its national anthem to eliminate mention of the South, while the southern part of the peninsula has disappeared from maps for television weather broadcasts.
North-South resort demolished
An analysis of satellite images published on April 23 by 38 North, the website of the Washington DC-based Stimson Center think tank, showed that the demolition of the buildings at the Mount Kumgang Tourist Area, another symbol of desire for inter-Korean unity.
The site, just north of the Demilitarized Zone that divides the peninsula, saw South Korean firms building hotels, restaurants, a golf resort and spa. One facility hosted divided by the .
It also attracted curious tourists from the South and earned the North much-needed hard currency, but the experiment came to a sudden halt in 2008 when a South Korean woman who had strayed away from a path was shot and killed by a North Korean guard.
In 2019, Kim Jong Un visited the site and ordered that it be razed to the ground.
The new satellite images show that little more than foundations of most of the buildings remain.
“I think Kim has come to the conclusion that improving relations with the South will not benefit him or his regime,” said Kim Sang-woo, a former politician with the left-leaning South Korean Congress for New Politics, who now serves as a board member of the Kim Dae-jung Peace Foundation.
Russia over South Korea
Pyongyang has been increasing the distance between itself and Seoul for some time, the former politician told DW. This pattern shows no signs of abating as Kim Jong Un instead focuses on .
“He has worked hard to strengthen relations with Russia, which has in turn provided him with military technology and a promise that under the terms of their security agreement will intervene on the North’s side if a conflict breaks out with the South or the US,” Kim Dae-jung told DW.
“That has given Kim greater confidence and belief that the South offers fewer opportunities.”
Rah Jong-yil, a former diplomat and senior South Korean intelligence officer, believes Kim’s change of heart can be traced back to the with US President .
“Kim went there with high expectations that a deal was ready to be made and that investment would be forthcoming and United Nations sanctions would be lifted, but the summit was a complete failure and he suffered a huge loss of face,” Rah said.
Six years later, “most traces of the South have been erased in the North,” he said, pointing out that the two sides are not even communicating.
On March 7, for example, two North Korean fishermen who were found drifting in South Korean waters off the west coast were rescued by the Coast Guard and brought ashore in the South.
The two men have said they were not attempting to defect and wish to return to the North.
Repeated efforts by the South Korean authorities and the United Nations Command on the border to inform the North that two of its citizens are trying to return have been ignored.
North-South ties ‘completely frozen’
“The relationship is completely frozen,” Rah said. “There are no exchanges and I see no way that can change because the North’s official position now is that the two Koreas are two separate and hostile states that cannot be reconciled.”
Kim Sang-woo is not even optimistic that the likely election of the left-leaning Democratic Party in the will enable new bridges to be built.
“If the Democratic Party does win the election then I am sure the incoming president will try to reach out to the North, show goodwill and offer to improve relations,” he said. “But I think Kim will decide that closer ties with Moscow will offer him better returns.”
Edited by: Keith Walker
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