By Chung Min-uck
Some reports about North Korea have turned into a self-fulfilling prophecy, fueling inter-Korean confrontation, according to media watchers.
Media outlets speculated Pyongyang was taking a “dual stance” of threatening the South with war while refraining from shutting the Gaeseong industrial complex, an inter-Korean joint venture in the northern border town.
The media claimed the hard currency the North earned from over 50,000 northern workers was too sweet for it to give up.
Coincidentally or not, the North closed the industrial park Wednesday, preventing South Koreans from entering the area.
Taken with less gravity than it should was the North’s statement that such reports were “seriously insulting our dignity” by claiming the communist nation allowed the complex to operate despite an escalation in tension because it is a source of foreign currency.
“In fact, it is not us but the South’s small and medium-sized enterprises that are benefiting from the Gaeseong industrial complex,” the North said in the statement.
“The Gaeseong industrial complex marks the first successful case of the two Koreas mutually benefiting since the Korean War (1950-1953),” said Lim Eul-chul, a researcher at the Institute of Far Eastern Studies. “It benefits Southern firms that can use North Korea’s cheap labor, while the North gains access to hard currency.”
Experts said media reports on North Korea are problematic because they are full of speculation and unsubstantiated facts due to a “lack of access.”