South Korea
had some harsh words for Pyongyang on Monday, as a Ministry of National Defense
spokesperson told reporters that the North “ought to disappear quickly.”
Kim Min Seok,
who was commenting on the hot issue of primitive reconnaissance drones believed
to be from the North, told a press briefing that North Korea is guilty of
constantly lying and distorting history, and, “It really is a country that
cannot exist.”
“Therefore,”
Kim went on, “It ought to disappear quickly.” He also said it would be best if journalists did not write about North Korean statements in a way that
implies that they have meaning.
Commenting
on North Korea’s proposal for a joint investigation into the drones, of which
three are known to have crashed on South Korean territory to date, Kim said
that any such investigation would be akin to “the criminal investigating his
own crime.” By way of evidence for North Korea’s history of distortion, he
pointed to the country’s first claimed “satellite launch” in 1998, which the
North continues to say is transmitting from space.
Such strong
comments are unusual for Seoul, which usually seeks to avoid commenting on
the future of North Korea as a state.
Meanwhile, North Korea continues to deny its involvement in the drone case, with the North Korean military mission at Panmunjom commenting most recently, “We
clarify once again, the story about the ‘North’s involvement’ in the ‘drone
case’ is nothing but a ‘charade’ against (North Korea) from A to Z, a replica
of the Cheonan warship sinking.” North Korea also denies involvement in the sinking of the ROKS Cheonan in March 2010.
