Almost two months have passed since President Yoon Suk Yeol unveiled a new unification initiative emphasizing freedom and human rights in his address on the 79th Liberation Day in mid-August. However, North Korea has remained uncharacteristically silent regarding Yoon’s ‘August 15 Unification Doctrine.’ This inaction is highly unusual compared to North Korea’s typical responses to major speeches or proposals from South Korean presidents on unification policy since Kim Jong Un took power. North Korea’s silence on the ‘August 15 Unification Doctrine’ reflects its long-term strategic calculations concerning the Korean Peninsula. To understand this non-reaction, we should consider the following four factors: First, North Korea is currently focused on expanding its foreign strategy through post-COVID-19 efforts to restore diplomacy while deliberately minimizing its messages directed toward South Korea. Second, the follow-up to Kim Jong Un’s January announcement regarding a policy shift in inter-Korean relations is still ongoing, and the reorganization of functions and direction in North Korea’s policy towards South Korea appears far from complete. Third, North Korea seems to prefer non-reaction over openly criticizing President Yoon’s unification initiative to prevent the North Korean public from learning about Seoul’s proposal,  which Pyongyang seeks to avoid. Fourth, nationwide mobilization for recovery from the massive flooding in late July may also have restricted North Korea’s response to the ‘August 15 Unification Doctrine.’