South Korean President Yun Seok-Yeol told attendees at a major national defense conference on Wednesday that the “irrational” communist regime in North Korea has “many provocations aimed at interfering in our elections” scheduled for April. He said there is a high possibility that he will do so.
Yun proclaimed communist dictator Kim Jong Un’s recent actions, including the firing of a barrage of cruise missiles, the launch of an alleged reconnaissance satellite, and the debut of a satellite. Suspect According to the Korean News Agency, the underwater nuclear device is “anti-national, anti-unification, anti-historical provocation and intimidation.” United.
South Koreans are preparing to participate in the midterm parliamentary elections on April 10th. The campaign leading up to the vote has been controversial and is seen as a referendum on Yoon’s government and South Korea’s increasingly chaotic left. Lee Jae-myung, Yoon’s rival in the 2022 presidential election, survived an assassination attempt on January 2 when he was stabbed in the neck by a man who professed his political opposition.
Before the assassination attempt, Lee was facing a wave of corruption allegations, which he had resisted through a hunger strike. Mr. Lee was unable to fully unite the Democratic Party after his next stabbing. On the day he was released from the hospital, several Democratic Party members announced that they were leaving the party and seeking to form a separate left-wing opposition party.
In this photo of the pool distributed by the Sputnik news agency, Russian President Vladimir Putin (second from left) and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un (from right) visit the Vostochny Cosmodrome in the Amur region on September 13, 2023. 2nd) is shown. (VLADIMIR SMIRNOV/POOL/AFP via Getty) Image)
Rep. Kim Jong-min, one of the defectors from the Democratic Party, said, “The Yun Seok-Yeong administration’s self-righteousness, incompetence, and irresponsibility must be judged and held accountable.” “However, the current Lee Jae-myung administration cannot pass judgment on the Yoon administration.”
The North Korean regime is not directly involved in the midterm elections. However, Kim Jong-un made a major policy change in January, and his administration began calling South Korea by its proper name, the Republic of Korea, instead of the separate region of South Korea, and declared unification. It’s no longer a top priority.
“The North Korean regime is the only irrational group in the world that has legalized the first use of nuclear weapons,” Yun said. Said Nearly 200 people gathered for Wednesday’s defense meeting. “If North Korea had a sensible regime, it would give up its nuclear weapons and find a way for its people to live, but the North Korean regime is intent on maintaining a hereditary totalitarian regime.”
Yoon specifically warned against election interference, asserting that “For the past 70 years, the North Korean regime has worked tirelessly to destroy the free democratic system of the Republic of Korea.”
File/ North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves as he prepares to leave Vietnam by train after completing a two-day official visit ahead of the North Korea-US Hanoi summit in Dong Dang, Vietnam, March 2, 2019. (Karl Cote/Getty Images)
“In a year of important political events, we have constantly engaged in social disruption, psychological warfare, and provocation,” Yun continued. “This year we expect to see many provocations aimed at election interference, including border provocations, drone intrusions, disinformation, cyberattacks, and rear-end disturbances.”
The National Defense Council is an annual exercise to consider potential actions by North Korea to disrupt the homeland. This year’s event was held at the presidential palace in Seoul.of Korea JoongAng Ilbo report Yin said he was the first president to attend the 2023 exercise in seven years and attended again on Wednesday. The meeting will “bring together government officials, the military, and police to review the nation’s integrated defense posture and discuss measures to prepare for security threats such as enemy infiltration and provocation,” it added.
This year’s meeting was a departure from the norm in that it also allowed the participation of civilians, fishermen who reported to authorities suspicious activity they believed was carried out by North Korea. Yun said the presence of everyone in attendance “is a warning to North Korea that it shows our united will.”
North Korea announced on Wednesday through state media that it had successfully launched a Fasal-2 cruise missile.
“This training contributed to checking the actions of the Korean People’s Army.” [Korean People’s Army] “Due to rapid counterattack posture and improved strategic strike capabilities, there was no negative impact on the security of neighboring countries,” the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. reportthere are few details.
File/A television screen shows footage of a North Korean missile launch during a news program at Seoul Station in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, March 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Ahn Young Jun)
The announcement followed Yonhap News explained “Cruise missiles were launched in succession last Wednesday, Sunday and Tuesday.” Although the cruise missiles do not violate U.N. sanctions, they pose a threat to South Korea, which Kim Jong Un labeled in a speech in mid-January as “the most hostile state to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.”
“Korean scum is our main enemy,” Kim reportedly said. Said. “We do not intend to unilaterally decide on a major change on the Korean Peninsula through overwhelming force, but we also do not intend to avoid war.”
In response, South Korea’s Ministry of Unification called on North Korea to “immediately cease its reckless military threats and psychological warfare against Seoul.”
In separate remarks in January, Kim told his subjects that North Korea “cannot proceed on the path of national restoration and unification” with South Korea, and called on the military to “completely occupy, conquer and retake” South Korea. He urged them to prepare.
