Maid of the Right Wing Hack Media Shock Brigade: The Rodong Sinmun Counterattacks

By | January 30, 2012 | No Comments

Not every DPRK-related story in the Asahi Shimbun is worthy of a North Korean refutation, but a recent piece asserting that Chinese forces had contingency plans to be “in Pyongyang in two hours” clearly touched a nerve.

KCNA Commentary on Japan Media’s Impudent Action

Pyongyang, January 26 (KCNA) — Conservative media of Japan are getting evermore pronounced in their hostile action after the DPRK suffered a great national loss. […]

On Jan. 22 Asahi Shimbun, reduced to a waiting maid of the right-wing forces, invented a rumor about the Chinese army’s “possible entry into Pyongyang” in case of “emergency” in the DPRK. […]

The said report aimed to drive a wedge between the DPRK and China, too, was a revelation of their hostile attempt to isolate the DPRK externally and check the vigorous advance of its army and people.

Interestingly enough, the Korean version of this article on January 28 (although Rodong Sinmun website appears to be having some issues this morning) did not mention China at all, rendering the underlined text above as “someone’s ‘entry into Pyongyang’,” meaning that China is not alone in depicting itself rather differently in its own media when it comes to discussing the PRC-DPRK relationship.

Not satisfied to knock down the specific rumor, Kim Jong Un was dispatched to work with parachuters while Prime Minister Choe oversaw a giant field of black dirt and the KCNA continued:

Situation in DPRK Is Peaceful as It Was: Russian Foreign Minister

Pyongyang, January 27 (KCNA) — Moscow did not see any sign that the situation on the DPRK is likely to develop in the direction of instability, said Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov, when interviewed by Kyodo News on Thursday. [Lavrov] continued:
According to the information we have received, the situation on the DPRK is peaceful as it was before.

After its mourning period, the life in the DPRK has gradually returned to normal.

It is our view that the announcement of Kim Jong Un’s assumption of the supreme commandership of the Korean People’s Army showed a smooth transition of power.

Therefore, there is no sign that the situation in the DPRK is likely to develop in the direction of instability.

Lavrov’s remarks amount to Russia’s total denial of the misinformation about “the instability of the system” in the DPRK, etc. spread by hostile forces.

Following the denial of instability, an attack on South Korean stories asserting a crackdown on the northern frontier:

KCNA Accuses KBS of Abandoning Basic Mission of Media

Pyongyang, January 27 (KCNA) — KBS is malignantly slinging mud at the DPRK every day, thus playing the role as a shock brigade of the Lee Myung Bak group keen on confrontation with fellow countrymen.
On Jan. 25 KBS aired another sheer lie that the DPRK “decided to punish illegal border trespass or use of hand phones during the mourning period as wartime crimes.” It unhesitatingly used again such trite method of false propaganda as quoting any “source.”

It is known to have played the worst role in the anti-DPRK false propaganda, letting loose invectives about every matter after the big loss to the nation. Therefore, nobody would believe KBS accidentally echoed the above-said misinformation. […]

KBS is a group of despicable servants and hack media persons who depend on the group of traitors to eke out their living after throwing away the soul and basic principle of media. […]

In other themes at the Rodong Sinmun of late, the typical push and pull prevails: no sooner is an e-business center is lauded in Pyongyang than a massive editorial warns against “ideological toxins” from the outside, etc., etc.

Hat tip to Luke Herman at University of California-San Diego.

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