ID :
200562
Thu, 08/11/2011 - 05:57
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/200562
The shortlink copeid
N. Korean State Media Stops Slandering S. Korean President
NORTH KOREA NEWSLETTER NO. 170 (August 11, 2011)
*** TOPIC OF THE WEEK (Part 2)
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea has recently stopped criticizing South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in its state media in what could be a subtle signal that Pyongyang wants to improve soured ties with Seoul.
The North drastically reduced its smear campaign against Lee before and after top nuclear envoys of the two Koreas met on the sidelines of a regional security meeting in Indonesia last month.
The North's media has not released any reports slandering Lee since Aug. 5, according to an analysis of its reports by Yonhap News Agency.
The (North) Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and other state media had carried more than a thousand articles from May 11 to Aug. 5, most of which accused Lee of being a "traitor."
Claiming that South Korea is aiming to slander the North's "great socialist system," the North has incessantly described President Lee as a "puppet traitor" and "the worst man in history," likening him to an animal.
The harsh words were a reminder of tension on the divided Korean Peninsula over the North's two deadly attacks on the South last year that killed 50 South Koreans.
In addition to its ceased criticism of Lee, the North went one step further on Aug. 9 by deleting the word "traitor" from a rerun of a radio broadcast first aired in June when referring to the conservative South Korean leader.
In contrast to Pyongyang's recent move, the regime had accelerated its smear campaign against Lee from early May when the South Korean leader offered to invite his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-il to a nuclear summit to be held in Seoul next year.
South Korea was chosen in April last year as the host for the next Nuclear Security Summit in March, a symbolic selection of a country where North Korea's nuclear defiance has presented multiple crises.
By late May, the North Korean media was slandering Lee in direct reports an average of 7.3 times per day. The North especially stepped up its harsh rhetoric, referring to Lee as "traitor" or "mad dog" starting on June 1, when the North disclosed secret contact between South and North Korean officials in China to push for an inter-Korean summit.
North Korea claimed that South Korean officials offered a cash envelope for the summit talks between Lee and Kim.
North Korea's verbal hostility against South Korea over controversial issues had grown harsher in an apparent bid to create conflicts in the South and to change its "confrontational policy" toward the North.
Pyongyang poured out a barrage of rhetoric against Seoul on such issues as the repatriation of North Korean defectors and the South's move to legislate a North Korean human rights bill.
The North has been frequently releasing warnings of "merciless retaliation" against any South Korean move to destroy its socialist system.
North Korea's rhetoric strengthened following Kim's weeklong trip to China in late May.
It also came after South Korean Marines, some military units and reserve forces were found to have used portraits of Kim Jong-il, his heir apparent, Kim Jong-un, and even his father, Kim Il-sung, as targets for shooting drills.
In June alone, the North's media poured forth a total of 504 stories slandering Lee. Also in July, the North continued badmouthing President Lee as South Korean frontline army units posted hostile slogans and placards that the North described as a "declaration of war."
But the North's harsh rhetoric began to abate from late July when nuclear envoys from the two Koreas met in Bali, Indonesia. The surprise meeting between Wi Sung-lac of South Korea and his newly appointed North Korean counterpart, Ri Yong-ho, provided a ray of hope for the future of the deadlocked six-party talks.
The meeting later paved the way for rare talks in New York between North Korea and the U.S. on how to resume long-stalled talks on ending Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programs.
North Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan traveled to New York at the invitation of the United States and met with Stephen Bosworth, the State Department's special representative for North Korea policy, on July 28 and 29. The two former Cold War enemies conducted high-level talks that both sides called "constructive."
On Aug. 8, the North also left out specific mention of Lee in its open letter to the United States and South Korea to cancel their annual joint military exercise next week, linking the proposed move to better relations with Seoul and Washington.
The move comes as South Korea and the United States prepare to mobilize tens of thousands of troops in a computer simulation war game to enhance their ability to deter possible North Korean aggression.
The two sides also plan to practice removing North Korean weapons of mass destruction during the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise set to run from Aug. 16 to 26, according to a South Korean official.
The North has frequently accused South Korea and the U.S. of plotting to launch a nuclear war on the North, a charge that Seoul and Washington have repeatedly denied.
The North's army mission at the border village of Panmunjom demanded that Seoul and Washington call off the drill to show their commitment to improving their ties with Pyongyang. But the letter only used the expression "the South Korean authorities of the military" without referring to the South Korean president by name.
The subtle change in the North Korean media report comes as South Korea is preparing to send emergency relief supplies worth 5 billion won (US$4.7 million) to North Korea to help it recover from recent devastating floods.
The rare aid offer may help ease inter-Korean tension and set the stage for further dialogue between the two sides, which still remain technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a cease-fire, not a peace treaty.
"The North's move to refrain from using harsh language represents its commitment to holding dialogue with South Korea and easing tension," said Paik Hak-soon, a senior research fellow at the Sejong Institute, an independent think tank near Seoul.
*** TOPIC OF THE WEEK (Part 2)
SEOUL (Yonhap) -- North Korea has recently stopped criticizing South Korean President Lee Myung-bak in its state media in what could be a subtle signal that Pyongyang wants to improve soured ties with Seoul.
The North drastically reduced its smear campaign against Lee before and after top nuclear envoys of the two Koreas met on the sidelines of a regional security meeting in Indonesia last month.
The North's media has not released any reports slandering Lee since Aug. 5, according to an analysis of its reports by Yonhap News Agency.
The (North) Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and other state media had carried more than a thousand articles from May 11 to Aug. 5, most of which accused Lee of being a "traitor."
Claiming that South Korea is aiming to slander the North's "great socialist system," the North has incessantly described President Lee as a "puppet traitor" and "the worst man in history," likening him to an animal.
The harsh words were a reminder of tension on the divided Korean Peninsula over the North's two deadly attacks on the South last year that killed 50 South Koreans.
In addition to its ceased criticism of Lee, the North went one step further on Aug. 9 by deleting the word "traitor" from a rerun of a radio broadcast first aired in June when referring to the conservative South Korean leader.
In contrast to Pyongyang's recent move, the regime had accelerated its smear campaign against Lee from early May when the South Korean leader offered to invite his North Korean counterpart Kim Jong-il to a nuclear summit to be held in Seoul next year.
South Korea was chosen in April last year as the host for the next Nuclear Security Summit in March, a symbolic selection of a country where North Korea's nuclear defiance has presented multiple crises.
By late May, the North Korean media was slandering Lee in direct reports an average of 7.3 times per day. The North especially stepped up its harsh rhetoric, referring to Lee as "traitor" or "mad dog" starting on June 1, when the North disclosed secret contact between South and North Korean officials in China to push for an inter-Korean summit.
North Korea claimed that South Korean officials offered a cash envelope for the summit talks between Lee and Kim.
North Korea's verbal hostility against South Korea over controversial issues had grown harsher in an apparent bid to create conflicts in the South and to change its "confrontational policy" toward the North.
Pyongyang poured out a barrage of rhetoric against Seoul on such issues as the repatriation of North Korean defectors and the South's move to legislate a North Korean human rights bill.
The North has been frequently releasing warnings of "merciless retaliation" against any South Korean move to destroy its socialist system.
North Korea's rhetoric strengthened following Kim's weeklong trip to China in late May.
It also came after South Korean Marines, some military units and reserve forces were found to have used portraits of Kim Jong-il, his heir apparent, Kim Jong-un, and even his father, Kim Il-sung, as targets for shooting drills.
In June alone, the North's media poured forth a total of 504 stories slandering Lee. Also in July, the North continued badmouthing President Lee as South Korean frontline army units posted hostile slogans and placards that the North described as a "declaration of war."
But the North's harsh rhetoric began to abate from late July when nuclear envoys from the two Koreas met in Bali, Indonesia. The surprise meeting between Wi Sung-lac of South Korea and his newly appointed North Korean counterpart, Ri Yong-ho, provided a ray of hope for the future of the deadlocked six-party talks.
The meeting later paved the way for rare talks in New York between North Korea and the U.S. on how to resume long-stalled talks on ending Pyongyang's nuclear weapons programs.
North Korea's First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Kye-gwan traveled to New York at the invitation of the United States and met with Stephen Bosworth, the State Department's special representative for North Korea policy, on July 28 and 29. The two former Cold War enemies conducted high-level talks that both sides called "constructive."
On Aug. 8, the North also left out specific mention of Lee in its open letter to the United States and South Korea to cancel their annual joint military exercise next week, linking the proposed move to better relations with Seoul and Washington.
The move comes as South Korea and the United States prepare to mobilize tens of thousands of troops in a computer simulation war game to enhance their ability to deter possible North Korean aggression.
The two sides also plan to practice removing North Korean weapons of mass destruction during the Ulchi Freedom Guardian exercise set to run from Aug. 16 to 26, according to a South Korean official.
The North has frequently accused South Korea and the U.S. of plotting to launch a nuclear war on the North, a charge that Seoul and Washington have repeatedly denied.
The North's army mission at the border village of Panmunjom demanded that Seoul and Washington call off the drill to show their commitment to improving their ties with Pyongyang. But the letter only used the expression "the South Korean authorities of the military" without referring to the South Korean president by name.
The subtle change in the North Korean media report comes as South Korea is preparing to send emergency relief supplies worth 5 billion won (US$4.7 million) to North Korea to help it recover from recent devastating floods.
The rare aid offer may help ease inter-Korean tension and set the stage for further dialogue between the two sides, which still remain technically at war since the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a cease-fire, not a peace treaty.
"The North's move to refrain from using harsh language represents its commitment to holding dialogue with South Korea and easing tension," said Paik Hak-soon, a senior research fellow at the Sejong Institute, an independent think tank near Seoul.
