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| ▲ Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho attends a parliamentary inspection of his ministry at the foreign affairs and unification committee of the National Assembly in Seoul on Oct. 11, 2023. (Yonhap) |
(LEAD) N Korea-unification minister
(LEAD) N.K. propaganda outlets slam Seoul's unification minister as 'madman'
(ATTN: ADDS details, ministry's response)
By Lee Minji
SEOUL, Oct. 12 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's propaganda outlets on Thursday issued a barrage of insults against South Korea's point man on inter-Korean affairs, calling him a "madman" and the worst-ever "traitor."
North Korea has often denounced South Korea's unification ministry, but its criticism of Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho, by name, only began earlier this week.
"A madman bent on pouring out slanders day after day has appeared in the puppet region. It is puppet Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho," Uriminzokkiri TV said.
"This man, drenched in an anti-republic sense, is a traitor who exceeds previous puppet unification ministers who were notorious for their criminal behavior," it said.
Another propaganda outlet, Meari, claimed that Kim will come to face the "stern judgment of history" over what it called his "exalted" attitude.
Choson Sinbo, a pro-North Korean newspaper based in Japan, also took a swipe at Kim, calling him an "anti-unification minister" who only ratchets up tension on the Korean Peninsula.
The criticisms are the latest in a series of similar rhetoric the propaganda outlets have issued amid lingering tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
The propaganda outlet Meari first lashed out at the unification minister on Sept. 13, while Uriminzokkiri issued a criticism of Kim, by name, for the first time Monday, according to the ministry.
The ministry declined to respond to the propaganda outlets.
"The government does not acknowledge statements by North Korean propaganda outlets as Pyongyang's official opinion nor assess or respond to them as they are vulgar in content and difficult to verify the source," a ministry official told reporters on condition of anonymity.
Kim, a conservative professor known to be a vocal advocate of human rights, vowed to pursue a principle-based inter-Korean policy as he took office in late July.
Kim Yong-hyun, a professor of North Korean studies at Seoul-based Dongguk University, said the North may be trying to shift the blame for strained ties onto the unification minister.
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