North Korea calls on all Koreans to push for reunification


In a message to "all Koreans at home and abroad," North Korea called for unification without the assistance of other countries, North Korean state media said.
The announcement was made after a meeting of the North Korean government and political parties, held in response to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's New Year's address calling for stronger reunification efforts. Pyongyang will "smash" all challenges against reunification, the statement said, and called joint military drills with "outside forces," like the kind conducted by South Korea and the United States, harmful and a "fundamental obstacle" to peace.
North Korea views 2018 as an important year, as it's the 70th anniversary of the founding of the country and the Winter Olympics are being held in South Korea.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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