By Park Byong-su, senior staff writer
A Ministry of National Defense spokesperson made an outburst on May 12 in which he said North Korea “needs to quickly go away.”
The blunt show of hostility from spokesperson Kim Min-seok, speaking at an official press briefing on behalf of the military, was unusual, with even critics in the ruling Saenuri Party (NFP) criticizing it as “inappropriate.”
Toward the end of a briefing on May 12, Kim responded to North Korea’s repeated denials of responsibility for unmanned aerial vehicles (small drones) discovered recently in northern South Korea. As if anticipating the opportunity, he proceeded into an explicitly emotional tirade against North Korea.
“North Korea isn’t even a country,” Kim said. “Do they have human rights? Do they have freedom? Doesn‘t the whole thing exist to support one person? And with them continuing to say fraudulent and historically regressive things, they truly are a country that should not be.”
Analysts said Kim’s statement seemed to reflect the military’s hostile views toward North Korea. In particular, it was seen as a possible response to North Korea’s rhetoric since a South Korean-US summit meeting late last month, with vulgar terms directed at President Park Geun-hye and racist comments likening US President Barack Obama to a “monkey.”
But some critics questioned the need for an opposition spokesperson for administration defense policy to make such provocative statements in public.
Saenuri lawmaker Ha Tae-keung responded with a Facebook post calling for Kim’s replacement.
“A Ministry of National Defense spokesperson needs sufficient consideration of inter-Korean relations and diplomacy when he speaks,” Ha said in the post.
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