|
On the day of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak¡¯s inauguration, the organ of the Central Committee of the North Korean Workers¡¯ Party offered only a veiled reference to the event. "We can advance independent unification and peaceful prosperity only when we achieve grand unity of the entire nation based on the principle of national self-reliance,¡± the Rodong Shinmun wrote. North Korea has yet to report Lee's election, more than two months since election day.
In an editorial headed "Our own nation should uphold the banner of independent unification," the daily said, ¡°Our nation is a spiritual weapon to achieve self-reliant unification and peaceful prosperity." It added, "The cooperation of the entire Korean nation for unification is the only legitimate way to achieve peace, wealth and prosperity for the nation."
Ryu Dong-ryeol, a researcher at the Police Science Institute, said, "I think North Korea was criticizing President Lee, who has stressed the Seoul-Washington alliance and cooperation between Seoul, Washington and Tokyo, in a roundabout way."
In an earlier editorial on Jan. 26 issue, the North Korean weekly Unification News wrote, "Pro-American, ultra-rightwing forces in South Korea are spouting gibberish about the Oct. 4, 2007 inter-Korean declaration¡± adopted in Pyongyang last year. ¡°They are stressing the need to make a wholesale review of the declaration and to study the feasibility of inter-Korean projects and review their cost. They are even saying that such projects should not be implemented if there is no national consensus."
There had been dire warnings in the North Korean press before the election if conservatives were to take power. In May 2007, the Minju Chosun mentioned Lee Myung-bak by name when it wrote, "If Lee takes power, it is crystal clear that war clouds will hang over this land." But since November 2007 when Lee Hoi-chang joined the presidential race, North Korea has held off direct criticism of Lee Myung-bak.
(englishnews@chosun.com )
|
