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North Korea is becoming more outspoken in its comments on South Korea¡¯s presidential election. On Jan. 1, a uniform editorial in three North Korean newspapers said the opposition Grand National Party must be kept from taking power in the South. On Jan. 4, the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland, the key propaganda tool directed at the South, denied this was just an internal matter for Seoul. Pundits agree that the North has never made so many blunt comments about any previous presidential election here.
The New Year¡¯s editorial last year warned that ¡°pro-American conservatives¡± are seeking to take power in the South and urged South Koreans from all walks of life to fight conservative candidates and ¡°join their progressive hands together.¡± In this year's editorial, the North directly mentions the Grand National Party. In presidential election years 1997 and 2002, the North made no comment on the election in the New Year¡¯s editorials.
Yoo Ho-yeol, professor of North Korea Studies at Korea University said Pyongyang in the past seemed not to care who runs South Korea. ¡°But after experiencing progressive parties that took power in the South for the last decade, the North apparently realized that it will be in a more advantageous position if progressive parties take power in terms of economic aid and international relations,¡± he said. Prof. Koh Yoo-hwan of Dongguk University said, "North Korea has claimed that the two Koreas should cooperate to break hardline policies led by the U.S. The North seems to believe that if conservative powers win the election here, just a year before the end of Bush administration, it will be in a very awkward position."
(englishnews@chosun.com )
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