NK strikes hopeful tone on South’s appointees

NORTH Korea took a positive tone in reports about South Korean Minister of Unification nominee Lee In-young and about the countr y’s new specia l adv iser to t he president on foreign af fairs and nationa l securit y, Im Jong-seok.

“There is much anticipation towards Lee In-young and Im Jongseok,” the North’s propaganda outlet Uriminzokkiri said on Tuesday, citing a commentary in the South’s online outlet Jaju Sibo.

“Attention is drawn to their future moves as both have made critical remarks about the RoK [Republic of Korea]-US working group.”

As t he North Korean outlet abridged t he 1,600-character article into about 600 words, it direct ly quoted phrases such as “must uphold t he idea of Uri minzok k iri” (which means “among our Korean race”), “courage to confront t he US” and “must make them get rid of the RoK-US working group, the Terminal High Altitude Area Defence [US anti-ballist ic missile defence system] and RoK-US joint milita r y dril ls.”

Meari, another one of the North’s propaganda outlets, said South Koreans had demanded that their government be self-reliant and discard its submissive attitude toward the US, citing a survey by South Korean pollster Realmeter.

The North’s propaganda radio station Tongil Voice on Tuesday said South Korean civic groups were calling for the disbandment of the RoKUS working group and the withdrawal of US forces from South Korea.

The latest reports from Pyongyang come more than two weeks after it stopped bitterly denouncing Seoul.