1st October 2016
Yeonhap News via Huffington Post Korea
Bak Geunhye addresses the press in Chungnam, 1st of October
Today South Korean President Bak Geunhye said “the North Korean leadership is testing our will, meanwhile its society is collapsing due to internal struggle. Now their interior division and chaos is aggravating our fears around North Korean nukes.*” Speaking at the 68th anniversary celebrations of the founding of the Korean army in Chungnam, the President said “while our country remains united and our military remains as one, we will tear down the false delusions of the North Korean leadership and our national society will unite as one with strength.”
“Whatever attacks are made, it’s certain that South Korea and us, its people, will survive together, and whatever this government [ie North Korea] tries the North Korean threat will not be yielded to. The will of the South Korean people will certainly need to be strong. Whatever differences there are between our ideologies and factions, I entreat all [South] Koreans to remain united along the same path,” she underlined.
The President commented that North Korean leader Gim Jeongeun “is showing off his nuclear missile capability, thereby heightening military tensions, in an attempt to stabilise his country’s internal conditions, but this [tactic] is a delusion and a misjudgement.” Bak went on to warn that “If North Korea will not give up the so-called ‘nukes for economic advancement’ route, its international isolation and economic problems and will become more serious as time goes by, leading to the failure of its system and more internal unrest.”
The President emphasised that “those who come late to deal with the crisis will be punished in the assessment of historians. Even at this stage, North Korea could turn away from its nuclear weapons and face the reality of its situation, and return to being a normal state.” Addressing the North Korean military and citizens, Bak said “we know only too well the terrible reality you are facing. As a nation we understand the human rights abuses which the North Korean leadership commits.” She pointed out that “it’s your right to enjoy universal values like democracy and freedom, human rights and welfare.”
This marks the first time that President Bak has openly implored the North Korean people to move towards South Korean values.
Analysis: As the article notes, this is particularly strong rhetoric from President Bak, who has never made such clear denunciations of North Korea in the past. Her remarks are intended primarily for domestic consumption; ordinary South Koreans have grown tired of the constant stream of violent invective from Pyeongyang and want to hear their President fight back. The number of ordinary North Koreans who will hear Bak’s exhortations will be effectively nil, although Gim Jeongeun’s government will certainly be listening, and will almost certainly respond with continued threats. One has to hope that the North Korean administration remains rational, whatever they threaten.
*Bak used the word 핵 (“haek”) to describe the North’s nuclear weapons – literally “nuke”, a notably informal word for this context.