By Kim Young-jin
North Korea has begun to criticize Rep. Park Geun-hye, head of the interim leadership committee of the ruling Saenuri Party, after holding back on such rhetoric in apparent consideration of a historic trip she made to the Stalinist state nine years ago.
Park, the daughter of late President Park Chung-hee, is thought to have been left out of Pyongyang’s usual harsh words against South Korean conservatives given that she traveled to the North to meet its late ruler Kim Jong-il in 2002.
The North's official Rodong Sinmun took aim Tuesday at Park’s family ties, in particular, her father’s iron-fisted rule, saying she was “endowed with a dictatorial spirit” and that she was leading her embattled party with the same “complete control.”
Pyongyang’s propaganda machine is seen to be making an all-out effort to interfere with the South’s domestic politics, reporting heavily on controversial issues and markedly criticizing the Lee Myung-bak administration, in an apparent bid to usher into a candidate with a softer line on the North.
Observers said the words against Park, the ruling camp’s leading presidential contender, were likely a continuation of the strategy ahead of crucial National Assembly elections in April. But some wondered if the plan could backfire if the criticism causes the struggling Saenuri Party to rally around Park.
Tension has been high between the sides since the Lee administration rolled back a decade of engagement and linked provision of aid to denuclearization steps by the North. Pyongyang is seen as wanting a progressive South Korean leader who would return Seoul to an engagement-based policy.
With consensus emerging that the hard-line approach may have contributed to two deadly attacks by the North in 2010, conservatives such as Park have adopted a slightly more flexible stance toward Pyongyang.
Park last year outlined her policy on the North dubbed “trustpolitik,” which observers said sought to forge a middle ground between Lee’s approach of tying aid to denuclearization steps by Pyongyang, and the Sunshine Policy of engagement espoused by past liberal administrations.
With the South Korean electorate swinging to the left on crucial issues ahead of the polls, attitudes on the North are following suit.
The Saenuri Party is playing catch-up when it comes to how to deal with Pyongyang. Nearly 42 percent believe the main opposition Democratic Unity Party is best equipped to manage inter-Korean relations compared to 31.3 percent who say the Saenuri Party is more capable.