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A Korean Central News Agency broadcast from Mar. 6 shows North Korean leader Kim Jong-un

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un showed his magnanimous nature both in his treatment of his guests and his offering of terms while receiving a special delegation from South Korean President Moon Jae-in. In his Mar. 5 meeting and dinner with the delegation, Kim complied with international standards of diplomacy while showing greater openness and confidence than his grandfather Kim Il-sung and father Kim Jong-il in the past.

In a Mar. 6 account of the visit to North Korea, the delegation’s head, National Security Office chief and senior special envoy Chung Eui-yong, described Kim Jong-un as showing boldness on major inter-Korean and North Korea-US issues.

On the issue of North Korea’s nuclear program, which has served as an obstacle to improving ties, Kim declared a willingness to denuclearize, citing the “teachings of past generations,” and clearly stated that the North would have no reason to possess nuclear weapons if the military threat against it were eliminated and its regime’s security ensured. He also stated plans to refrain from nuclear or missile testing or other strategic provocations while dialogue is going on.

With his agreement to hold an inter-Korean summit at the Peace House in Panmunjeom, he would be the first North Korean leader ever to set foot in South Korea. While many had been predicting an increase in military tensions amid North Korea’s objections to joint South Korea-US military exercises to resume next month, Kim defied expectations and surprised the delegation by saying he “understand[s] if they go ahead at the same level as in past years.”

Kim’s defying of expectations was also seen in his prompt meeting with the delegation. Kim received the members for dinner at 6 pm on Mar. 5, three hours after their arrival in Pyongyang. The reception stood in contrast to Kim Jong-il’s past pattern of declining to provide a meeting schedule and meeting with delegations on the final day of their visit.

In their respective past visits in June 2005 and Aug. 2007, then-Unification Minister Chung Dong-young and National Intelligence Service director Kim Man-bok did not meet with Kim Jong-il until the last day. With the latest meeting, Kim observed the diplomatic protocol agreed upon in advance by Workers’ Party vice chairman Kim Yong-chol in a meeting with Moon while visiting South Korea last month.

The dinner and meeting are also drawing attention for their unusual length – four hours and 12 minutes. The duration was an hour and 30 minutes longer than the two hours and 40 minutes his younger sister, special envoy Kim Yo-jong, spent meeting and dining at the Blue House with Moon last month. This break with precedent is also being seen an attempt to convey his magnanimous.

The venues for the meeting and dinner represented another break from formula for the North. While past visitors from the South or overseas have used the Baekhwawon state guest house or Mokrankwan Restaurant, Kim’s dinner with the delegation this time took place at the Jindallaekwan, the headquarters building of the Korean Workers’ Party. It was the first-ever visit by South Korean figures to the party’s headquarters.

The Workers’ Party headquarters has been described as North Korea’s equivalent to the Blue House, housing Kim Jong-un’s office as top leader and the secretariat supporting him in his duties. It provides the venue for most meetings to decide important policy measures, including expanded Workers’ Party Central Committee politburo and Central Military Commission meetings. North Korean media often show images of the three-story Workers’ Party headquarters as a symbol when referring to the North Korean leader as “revolution leader” and “party’s center.”

The presence of Kim’s wife Ri Sol-ju at his dinner with the delegation was also seen as unusual. Ri has made several appearances at North Korean events, but is rarely seen at meetings with foreign envoys. Of the seven meetings between Kim and foreign envoys reported to date, Ri’s name has only been mentioned by the North Korean press in connection with a Sept. 2015 visit by Cuba’s “second-in-command,” Council of State First Vice President Miguel Diaz-Canel.

The meeting was also Ri’s first with South Korean figures since visiting the South as a cheerleading squad member for the 2005 Asian Athletics Championships in Incheon. While North Korea has never had a First Lady figure in the past, the latest delegation’s visit was seen as marking her diplomatic debut as Kim’s wife. Her presence at the dinner was seen as an attempt by the North to emphasize its standing as a “normal country” – adopting a similar approach to the West, where visiting foreign delegations are welcomed with dinners by the head of state and his or her spouse.

North Korea’s recent decision to refer to Ri with the title “Yeosa,” or “Madame,” rather than “Dongji,” or “Comrade,” is being interpreted along similar lines. “Yeosa” is also the term typically used for First Ladies in South Korea, and those from other countries. In a Mar. 6 report, the Korean Central News Agency said, “Comrade Supreme Leader and Madame Ri Sol-ju warmly received Blue House National Security Office director Chung Eui-yong for dinner as a special envoy for President Moon Jae-in.”

“North Korea seems to trying to play up its image as a normal country by emphasizing flexibility and softness,” said Dongguk University professor Kim Yong-hyun of Kim Jong-un’s breaks with precedent.

“Given the way the US has depicted North Korea negatively as ‘abnormal’ in the past, you can also see it as an expression of active willingness to engage in dialogue toward the US,” Kim added.

University of North Korean Studies professor Koo Kab-woo described Kim Jong-un’s approach as “an open style that stands in sharp contrast with Kim Jong-il, who was more of a ‘hermit leader.’”

“There is also a difference in terms of not committing breaches of etiquette [such as making delegates wait],” he added. “It’s an expression of confidence that also sends a proactive signal to South Korea.”

Koo also said Kim’s unveiling of the Workers’ Party headquarters “highlighted his stature as Workers’ Party chairman.”

A senior Blue House official said that Kim had “shown the greatest hospitality that North Korea is capable of showing.”

“In that sense, he appears to be showing a strong commitment to improve North Korea’s relationship with the South and the US.”

By Noh Ji-won and Seong Yeon-cheol, staff reporters

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