By Kang Hyun-kyung
North Korea’s state-run media threatened, Monday, to disclose South Korean presidential hopefuls’ supportive remarks they made regarding the reclusive state if “red scare” allegations continue in the South.
Through the Central News Agency, the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the North claimed South Koreans “will be stunned” if it makes public what Rep. Chung Mong-joon and Gyeonggi Province Governor Kim Moon-soo said during their respective visits to the North.
The committee included Rep. Park Geun-hye, currently an unrivaled presidential hopeful in the ruling camp, on the list of prominent politicians as “having obviously made remarks and undertaken acts that were pro-North Korea” when they visited.
“In May 2002, Park Guen-hye, who received a warm welcome from Mr. General (referring to the late leader Kim Jong-il), had made plenty of pro-North Korean remarks during her trip to Pyongyang,” it said. “We are willing to disclose what South Korean politicians, lawmakers and government officials said during their visits to the North, if that is necessary.”
During the trip, Park met the late North Korean leader. Back then, the former leader of the ruling Saenuri Party visited the reclusive nation as a regular citizen.
The state media said, “Recently, an unprecedented, insane campaign to crack down on North Korean sympathizers is underway in the South. A gang of conservatives there painted the people, who tried to tackle their anti-unification and confrontational acts as North Korean sympathizers, in order to discredit them and ruin their careers.”
The North’s abrupt statement came as South Korean media and experts addressed concerns about some “pro-North Korean” politicians who were elected as lawmakers and as a result have access to classified information on national security.
A few lawmakers of the minor Unified Progressive Party (UPP), including Reps. Lee Seok-ki, are facing mounting pressure to step down for their alleged links to North Korea. While in college, these politicians dreamed of building an ideological communist country and took to the streets to fight against the then authoritarian government in the 1980s. After graduation, some of them served jail terms after engaging in espionage scandals or violating the National Security Law.
Despite mounting pressure, the lawmakers have refused to quit and claim the right wing is fanning a red scare as a campaign tactic.
North Korea’s motive in threatening to disclose those politicians’ remarks and acts is not clear.
But it is interpreted as part of a tactic to influence the presidential election slated for December, considering the North has made similar attempts previously.
Pyongyang has consistently released strong-worded statements or verbal attacks before major elections.