Plans for joint inter-Korean event to commemorate Mar. 1 Movement centennial fall through

Posted on : 2019-02-22 18:41 KST Modified on : 2019-02-22 18:41 KST
N. Korean official says joint commemorative events after Mar. 1 are still possible
A committee responsible for organizing the events commemorating the centennial of the Mar. 1 Movement holds a press conference in Seoul on Feb. 18. (Cho Hyun
A committee responsible for organizing the events commemorating the centennial of the Mar. 1 Movement holds a press conference in Seoul on Feb. 18. (Cho Hyun

Plans for a joint inter-Korean event to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the Mar. 1 Independence Movement have fallen through.

Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland (CPRF) chairman, who heads the North Korean delegation to inter-Korean high-level talks, sent a telephone message to his South Korean counterpart Minister of Unification Cho Myoung-gyon on the morning of Feb. 21 informing him that “preparations [for a joint centennial event] are not possible in scheduling terms,” the South Korean Ministry of Unification said.

The ministry went on to stress, “While a joint inter-Korean event for March 1 may not be realistically feasible, joint inter-Korean commemorative events for the centennial anniversary of the March 1 movement will continue to be discussed and pursued.”

In a joint declaration from their Sept. 2018 summit in Pyongyang, South Korean President Moon Jae-in and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stated their agreement to “jointly commemorate the 100th anniversary of the March First Independence Movement Day, and to hold working-level consultations toward this end.” Since then, the two sides have been discussing different commemorate events through their inter-Korean joint liaison office in Kaesong and other channels, including a joint inter-Korean event for Mar. 1 and the joint exhumation of the remains of Korean independence fighter An Jung-geun.

N. Korea likely to devote all its efforts to preparations for Hanoi summit

As the mention of “scheduling” in the North Korean notification suggests, North Korea’s shortage of capacities for other efforts amid its preparations for its second summit with the US played the largest part in the joint March 1 event’s failure to pan out. In consideration of this, the South Korean government suggested the possibility of a small-scale high-level delegation participating from the North in a commemorative event on Mar. 1 at Seoul’s Gwanghwamun Square, but that approach also failed to work out. One obstacle to that approach was the aim of the Gwanghwamun Square event, which is intended to commemorate not only the March 1 Independent Movement but also the centennial anniversary of the establishment of the Republic of Korea. While North Korea recognizes the historical significance of the March 1 Independence Movement, it does not acknowledge the legitimacy of the provisional government – instead regarding partisan activities against Japan in Manchuria by Kim Il-sung and others as a sole basis for historical legitimacy.

By Lee Je-hun, senior staff writer

Please direct comments or questions to [english@hani.co.kr]



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