On November 7th, Rodong Sinmun published an article employing comments alleged to have come from groups in third countries to criticize South Korea\u2019s efforts to dissolve the ultra-left wing Unified Progressive Party (UPP) of detained lawmaker Lee Seok Ki. <\/p>\n
Contributors to the piece, entitled \u201cStop the Oppression of Progressive Political Parties Now,\u201d came from Switzerland, France, Bulgaria and Russia, among others. <\/p>\n
One reportedly asserted, \u201cWe condemn South Chosun\u2019s forcible disbanding of the UPP as an unparalleled act of fascist aggression,\u201d and, \u201cThis incident confirms that South Chosun is a place where political freedoms and rights have been totally liquidated, a theatre of fascist rampages.\u201d <\/p>\n
A comment from Bulgaria declared, \u201cWe are very concerned about the increasing oppression upon a progressive political party that pursues justice and truth in South Chosun,\u201d before broadening the attack, \u201cThe behaviour of the South in grovelling to their American masters while confronting their countrymen in the North cannot in any way be justified.\u201d<\/p>\n
A statement from the Swiss Chosun Association and Juche Research Institute added, \u201cThe forcible dissolution of the UPP is a criminal, fascist act\u201d by which \u201cthe South\u2019s puppet conservative government is attempting to revive the Yushin dictatorship [of President Park Geun-hye\u2019s father, Park Chung-hee].\u201d<\/p>\n
Experts say that some of the groups may be complete fabrications. Currently, Google searches produce mentions of the groups in articles written by Uriminzokkiri and Chosun Central News Agency (KCNA), but no results containing anything produced by the groups themselves. <\/p>\n
Ryu Dong Yeol, a senior researcher with the Police Science Institute told Daily NK, \u201cOrganizations like the Juche Research Institute do exist, but in name only. Other groups could be ones that are very obscure and inconspicuous, and the North may have borrowed and attached their names to statements produced at home.\u201d He explained, \u201cThe North knows that their position is untenable when alone; hence, they seek to shore up their position by feigning the support of organizations from around the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
Some groups that regularly appear in the North Korean media are active at home, such as the Association for the Study of Songun Politics UK. However, even these groups are extremely minor, with limited memberships.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On November 7th, Rodong Sinmun published an article employing comments alleged to have come from groups in third countries to criticize South Korea\u2019s efforts to dissolve the ultra-left wing Unified Progressive Party (UPP) of detained lawmaker Lee Seok Ki. Contributors to the piece, entitled \u201cStop the Oppression of Progressive Political Parties Now,\u201d came from Switzerland, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":122,"featured_media":25149,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"wikipediapreview_detectlinks":true,"footnotes":""},"categories":[67],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25147","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\n