"Joseon’s March" Military Provocation... Propaganda Targeting Residents
Launching "Internal Public Opinion Warfare" to Divert Internal Dissatisfaction Externally
North Korea has been engaging in propaganda and agitation targeting its residents by enumerating the provocations it has carried out since the beginning of this month. As internal conditions in North Korea continue to worsen, including the worsening food shortage, it is interpreted as an attempt to raise external tensions and unite the residents. In particular, there is an analysis that the recent pattern of North Korean provocations, which somewhat exaggerates the 'actual deployment,' reveals a sense of anxiety.
The Workers' Party organ, Rodong Sinmun, claimed on the 31st that "March in Joseon has further imprinted the irreversible super-strength of our state and the anger and annihilation will of the Korean people reaching the ends of the sky before the world." It then listed one by one the major provocations North Korea carried out this month, including the short-range ballistic missile (SRBM) it claimed was a 'new tactical guided weapon' on the 9th, the intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) 'Hwasong-17' launch on the 16th, and the nuclear unmanned underwater attack vehicle explosion test from the 21st to the 23rd.
Kim Jong-un: "We must instill fear in our enemies by strengthening nuclear war deterrence"... Observes ICBM [Image source=Yonhap News]
The newspaper explained, "On March 9, the General Secretary personally visited the Hwasong artillery unit, observed the firepower strike training, and emphasized the strict preparation to achieve the utmost perfection in performing the two strategic major tasks of war deterrence and seizing the initiative in war," while regarding the launch of the 'Hwasong-17' as "an occasion that clearly demonstrated our Party and government's practical will to act by sending a stronger warning to the enemies, making them recognize the threat of a possible armed conflict approaching reality, and responding at any time with overwhelming offensive measures."
It also connected a series of military provocations to 'praise for Kim Jong Un,' demanding unity and loyalty. The newspaper stated, "The days of March, echoing like the thunder of Hwasong artillery, were days when we deeply felt once again that it was ten million times right to have endured endless glory and harsh hardships while following the Party along a single path under the leadership of the greatest leader in the world," and "Because we have revered the General Secretary, the steel commander who is invincible in every battle, the strength of our state is always super-strong, and the truth that we will surely win if we fight is clearly engraved again in the history of Joseon's March."
Kim Jong-un: "We must instill fear in our enemies by strengthening nuclear war deterrence"... Observes ICBM [Image source=Yonhap News]
In the past, North Korea did not disclose all military provocations, including missile launches, to its internal residents. However, recently, it has been extensively promoting the provocations carried out since March as the 'revolutionary activities of the beloved General Secretary' on the front page of the March 25 issue of Rodong Sinmun, and earlier on the 17th, it reported that Kim Jong Un and Kim Ju-ae observed the entire process of the ICBM launch. During the peak of the COVID-19 outbreak, propaganda about weapons development achievements was restrained, but recently, it is interpreted as having launched a 'domestic public opinion campaign' to divert residents' dissatisfaction outward.
Professor Park Won-gon of Ewha Womans University’s Department of North Korean Studies pointed out that North Korea has been emphasizing 'actual deployment' of its provocations since around the time of last month's South Korea-U.S. joint exercises. Professor Park analyzed, "The advancement of weapon systems, which contains a considerable degree of deception, tends to exaggerate and flaunt in order to engage in a 'recognition struggle' rather than pose an actual threat," adding, "In a situation where the internal economy continues to worsen, there is also a political purpose to strengthen residents' unity and to portray the leadership as effectively responding to external threats."
Meanwhile, Rodong Sinmun did not mention the tactical nuclear warhead 'Hwasan-31' unveiled on the 28th. Regarding this warhead, there is a strong possibility that it is a 'model' since the military, including Kim Jong Un, reportedly touched it with bare hands at the time of its unveiling, but the mere fact of its disclosure has already raised various concerns such as 'miniaturization of nuclear warheads' and 'indications of the direction of the 7th nuclear test.'
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