Pyongyang has heralded the forthcoming intra-Korean talks as a “great opportunity” for unification.
But officials have warned foreign parties against interfering and compromising the negotiations.
State-run news agency KCNA news agency published an editorial insisting bilateral relations were an “internal matter of the Korean people” that should be pursued without foreign involvement “which would only create complexity in problem-solving”.
The article also warned against moves to block the talks through “improper pretexts and legal and institutional tools” and branded such efforts a “deceptive” gambit to misguide public opinion at home and abroad.
KCNA said: “Efforts to improve bilateral ties can come to fruition only when the two sides work together based upon co-operation among Korean people.
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“They should not be bound by the past and the will to improve relations should be backed by action.”
Kim’s New Year address made it clear he would respond firmly to any efforts by the US to destroy the peace and security of the Korean Peninsula.
Claiming that the entire United States is “within range” of North Korea’s missiles, Kim warned that “a nuclear button is always on my desk”.
But at the same time he indicated Pyongyang was ready to start mending cross-border ties with its southern neighbour.
He said: “When it comes to North-South relations, we should lower the military tensions on the Korean Peninsula to create a peaceful environment.”
He offered to resume communication and discuss Pyongyang’s potential participation in the upcoming Winter Olympics in South Korea.
Officials on Pyongyang and Seoul have re-established a channel of communication that had been frozen for nearly two years and agreed to meet next week to discuss topics of mutual interest and North Korea’s possible participation in games.
North Korea has selected a five-member delegation, headed by Ri Son-gwon, chairman of North Korea’s Committee for Peaceful Reunification, to participate in high-level talks to be held in the village of Panmunjom on January 9.
The head of the North Korea delegation has been taking part in various cross-border military talks since 2006, and is considered to be a close ally of Kim Young-chol, the vice chairman of the Central Committee of the North’s Workers’ Party.
Earlier this week, South Korea also suggested sending a five-member delegation led by Unification Minister Cho Myoung-gyon.