The Council for Reconciliation and Cooperation (KCRC), the arm of the North Korean regime primarily responsible for inter-Korean cooperation, has today directly criticized a number of defector organizations by name.
“We have been entrusted with issuing a strict warning in the name of the Republic (North Korea) and nation to those organizations which will be the first targets for severe punishment,” it threatened in a statement released on propaganda outlet “Uriminzokkiri.” The phrase, ”We have been entrusted,” implies that this warning is being delivered on the direct orders of Kim Jong Il.
“North Korea Reform Radio, Open Radio for North Korea and The Daily NK are throwing dirt at us under the banner of a propaganda front against North Korea,” it continued.
It called defectors “human trash,” “traitors,” and “fugitives” who have ungratefully run away from their families and the embrace of the Republic, and warned North Korea Intellectuals Solidarity and other defector organizations that they will “never forgive the human trash who have degenerated into informants for anti-unification reactionaries, the puppet conservative factions and American and Japanese anti-Republic schemes.”
It went on to criticize the activities of U.S. Department of State, saying that, “Their chiefs drag defectors to the White House and Capitol to give prizes to them, and support anti-Republic human rights organization schemes with their money.”
Following the assertions, Open Radio for North Korea released a statement. “ORNK is a radio broadcaster which is making a space to share a sincere dialogue between the people of North and South, especially for those North Koreans who are being deprived of their right to know within the closed system. We feel very sorry that the KCRC has judged us wrongly and distorted our values.”
It added, “Distorting and denouncing our nature and mission is an obstacle to the reconciliation and cooperation between North and South that they highly value.”
Kim Seung Cheol, the President of North Korea Reform Radio, is not about to back down. “We have sent CDs into North Korea by balloon,” he told The Daily NK, “I guess they got angry about that. However, we cannot stop it because of their warning. We will keep doing this and broadcasting in order to report justice and truth to the North Korean people.”
Secretary General Kim Yun Tae of the Network for North Korean Democracy and Human Rights agreed. “It implies that North Korean authorities may be feeling a sense of crisis due to South Korean NGO activities and broadcasts,” he said, adding, “In order to improve North Korea’s human rights situation, these NGOs and nonprofit broadcasting groups should work more actively regardless of the North’s threats.”
