[평양 포커스] Anti-imperialist propaganda and agitation intensified after the Hwasong 17 launch

On the 24th, North Korea fired an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) from Pyongyang International (Sunan) Airfield under the order of Kim Jong-un to launch. The next day (25th), the Rodong Sinmun reported that Kim Jong-un issued a handwritten order on the 23rd, and came to the test launch site on the 24th and directly instructed the entire process of launching the ‘New Intercontinental Ballistic Missile ‘.

He said that the launch of the was made with the inevitability of a long-term confrontation with the US accompanied by the threat of nuclear war in the rapidly changing international situation, and that it announced the ’emergence of another powerful nuclear attack method’ to the world. At the same time, in January of last year (2021), the process of realizing the ‘independent national defense development strategy’ decided at the 8th party congress, was put forward as a ‘creation of self-reliance.’ North Korea inserted the term ‘the banner of self-reliance’ in the preamble to the Party rules for the first time when it revised the Party Bylaws in 2021.

At the 8th Party Congress, Kim Jong-un declared that he would subdue the United States with a coercive strategy, calling the United States an “illegal and rampant hostile force” and “the biggest enemy” He threatened to build an anti-US strategy.

In addition, by declaring 2021 as the ‘year of head-on breakthrough’ again, he ordered the strongest military power increase and rejected the international community’s demand for denuclearization. As declared at the 8th Party Congress, North Korea has progressed according to Kim Jong-un’s will and determination to strengthen the nuclear force so far, and the launched this time is the result of that.

According to the Rodong Sinmun, the flew at a maximum peak altitude of 6,248.5 km and a distance of 1,090 km for 4,052s (about 70 minutes) and landed precisely in the ‘planned waters’ on the high seas of the East Sea. After the successful test-fire, Kim Jong-un said that the emergence of a new strategic weapon, an aggregation of advanced defense science and technology, would make the world aware of the power of North Korea’s strategic force and provide an opportunity to further solidify the guarantee for national security.

In addition, he did not hide that the other country was the United States, threatening that if anyone tried to infringe on the security of North Korea, there would be a severe price to be paid. In addition, in order to thoroughly prepare for a long-term confrontation with the United States, it will continue to strengthen its ‘military offensive capability’, and the successful launch of the showed confidence that North Korea’s ‘strategic status’ was further enhanced.

The Hwasong-17, launched on the 24th, has a maximum range of over 13,000 km, bringing the entire US mainland within range. The White House immediately condemned the violation of Security Council resolutions and demanded the UN convene an open meeting of the Security Council. A UN spokesperson also accused North Korea of ​​violating the moratorium announced in 2018. US President Biden, attending the G7 summit in Brussels, Belgium, along with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, strongly condemned. Biden considered North Korea’s ICBM test launch to have crossed the de facto ‘red line’. In doing so, he reaffirmed the firm security commitment of the United States to the security of South Korea and Japan.

Although North Korea’s ICBM launch has been proceeding as planned, there are aspects that fit the international situation. With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russia struggling for more than a month, and a crisis over the possibility of Putin’s use of nuclear weapons in a crisis, NATO’s plans to intervene in the case of Russia’s use of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) came out, and a nuclear disaster was imminent. The provocation was made by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, taking advantage of the global situation that is being pushed.

This clearly demonstrates the position of riding on the sidelines of China and Russia amid the formation of a new Cold War structure of the US-Western/Russian-China. At the same time, it is seen as an expression of confidence in the strong background of China and Russia. As expected by Kim Jong-un, China and Russia opposed North Korea’s condemnation of the Security Council and, rather, ordered sanctions relief. Currently, Russia is courting North Korea, so it will have no choice but to shut its eyes to any provocations from North Korea. China looks the same.

Anti-imperialist propaganda intensified·agitation

A singularity was discovered in an article in the Rodong Sinmun on the 25th, the day after North Korea launched the . Articles congratulating the successful test launch of the were pouring in, as well as articles of anti-imperialist propaganda and agitation. It contains comprehensive contents including not only anti-American and anti-American, but also anti-Japanese and anti-feudal (landlord).

On the anti-American level, they did not directly mention or criticize the current Biden government, but brought the method used in the early days of the North Korean regime and criticized the missionaries intensively. This is a fairly absurd behavior. The title of the article is ‘Seungnyangi wearing a missionary’s mask’ (headquarters reporter Park Jinhyang). It’s a fun way to do it, and it’s banal. When I looked for an article in the Rodong Sinmun that mentioned the missionary, it was an article dated June 18, 2020, two years ago, and the missionary did not appear in the title, but only appeared once or twice in the article. However, this time, he openly criticized the missionary as Seungnyang in the title.

At the 8th Party Congress in 2021, even after Kim Jong-un defined the United States as the ‘biggest enemy’, North Korea, which did not mention missionaries at all, fired the on the very day after North Korea fired the Hwasong-17, a symbol of anti-Americanism and anti-Americanism. tripped over I still seem to think that this is the most effective way to inspire anti-Americanism and anti-Americanism among the masses. If you look at the contents of the article, it is worthy of boiling your anger and resistance. This is the first thing I’ve come across. The article included the following remarks by Kim Il-sung at the head of the article.

“American missionaries in Korea ‘humanism’ As a human with a signboard, I can’t even imagine Unhesitatingly, he carried out the savage atrocities that could not be done..”

Then, a missionary’s flight becomes a skill:

“It was hundreds of years ago that American missionaries with crosses contributed to their individuality.. They set up chapels in various places and gave the Bible in Korean to simple Koreans. while holding you “You must believe in Jesus as your savior to live well and go to heaven even after you die..”go preached. ‘philanthropy’The missionaries who set up hospitals under the guise of “their missionaries” have a lot of good medicine and doctors who are good at medicine, so they can cure any disease, and the seriously ill can get no money.He tempted people to treat him without.

They immediately believed this and killed the poor and innocent Koreans who came to the hospital with wild beasts.. There was a time when a young woman named Park Gwi-jeom, who was suffering from hunger and had trouble eating changed food, came with her mother.. Anderson, the hospital director, said he was going to be hospitalized and had the virgin’s mother signed the pledge.. It was a murder document that said the hospital would not be held responsible for dying during treatment, and that the body could not be found in the event of death..

But the dark-eyed maiden’s mother didn’t know that.. Anderson and her side who put the virgin under general anesthesia that day for surgery., The American doctors, who are trainees, cut through the vivid belly of the virgin and rummaged through the organs for hours as they wished to conduct human anatomy experiments.did. Anderson, who brutally cut off a virgin’s life, was some kind of cancer, so we They said they had no choice but to not return the bodies for fear that their sins would be exposed..”

This is much more disturbing than the fact that missionary Heo Simo, a regular menu item in missionary flight instigated by North Korea, tattooed a thief with hydrochloric acid on the forehead of a child who ate a fallen apple. No matter how harshly the current US government’s hostile policy toward North Korea is criticized, it will not provoke as much anger and resistance as this.

The people’s fiery hostility toward the United States more than justifies Kim Jong-un’s missile provocation. In this respect, Kim Jong-un’s launch of the is very strong for internal control and internal solidarity. He used it as an opportunity to make up for his current situation at once.

After the launch of the , all editorials in the Rodong Sinmun are arguing that this success stems from Kim Jong-un’s revolutionary ideology. At the same time, they are raising their voices to grant absoluteness to Kim Jong-un and to carry out his revolutionary ideology in all fields. The , the crystallization of the US and anti-US, clearly imprints on the entire North Korean people that Kim Jong-un is an unprecedented leader.

*The external author’s column may not match the editorial direction of this magazine.