MOSCOW, February 7. /TASS/. The North Korean authorities believe that the time has passed for achieving unification with the South, Russian Ambassador to Pyongyang Alexander Matsegora said in an interview with TASS.
"The North Korean leader (Kim Jong Un - TASS) took unprecedented steps once, in 2018-2019, in order to normalize relations with the South and reached out to the South Koreans on many points," he noted. "However, the goodwill he demonstrated was not met with a proper response. None of the agreements on intra-Korean economic cooperation was implemented because Washington was opposed to this and the South did not dare to object. That said, the time is now gone and there is no way back. At least, this is what our North Korean friends think now," the diplomat added.
On April 27, 2018, the leaders of South Korea and North Korea, Moon Jae-in and Kim Jong Un, respectively, signed a joint declaration calling for peace, prosperity and unification of the Korean Peninsula following their summit in Panmunjom. In particular, the document proclaimed the goal of fully denuclearizing the peninsula and highlighted the two countries’ firm determination to sign a peace treaty and further boost humanitarian cooperation. The parties confirmed their intentions at another summit in September 2018. However, most of these plans were never implemented.