North Korean commentary criticizes South's "traitor" president
Friday, May 16, 2008 at 09:22 
Text of report by state-run North Korean news agency KCNA
On 8 [May 2008], a military commentator issued an article revealing the truth of traitor Lee Myung-bak's [Ri Myo'ng-pak, Ri Myo'ng-pak] military confrontation commotion.
Following is the full text:
Because of traitor Lee Myung-bak, the North-South relations, which have been developing for better along the path illuminated by the historic 15 June Joint Declaration, have now entered a phase of crisis hard to disentangle.
Because of the anti-national, anti-reunification Lee Myung-bak "regime's" hostile policy towards us, the atmosphere of national reconciliation and cooperation that filled this land with the idea of By Our Nation has now evaporated and only military tension and confrontation are aggravating.
Looking back on the fact that the successive South Korean conservative "regimes" had clung to anti-Republic confrontation and the aggravation of military tension, today's development is nothing new.
However, our revolutionary armed forces cannot but shine the light on the truth of the situation as it clearly shows that traitor Lee Myung-bak and the bellicose forces of the puppet South Korean military are swimming against the trend of the times moving towards the development of the North-South relations and peaceful reunification.
The military confrontation commotion kicked up by traitor Lee Myung-bak and the bellicose forces in the puppet military formed by the former set it as their general goal to ratchet up pressure on us to the maximum and began their military confrontation commotion by opening a new prelude to military tension with all effort focused on gaining what they call "military edge."
When there was a sign of change in its policy towards the North following the inauguration of traitor Lee Myung-bak's "regime," it was the bellicose forces of the puppet military ingrained with conservatism that gallantly took the lead in creating "military edge."
"Military edge" over us is meant to be gained by accelerating the speed with which the existing plan for increasing the armed forces of aggression is being advanced, by perfecting the combined operation system with the United States at a higher level, and establishing in all areas of the armed forces the readiness to "instantly respond to the enemy fire" through the accelerated preparations for taking in more multinational forces in an "emergency."
As if they have been waiting all along for this, the bellicose forces of the puppet military emphatically said that they have had a really hard time over the past ten years since the 15 June Joint Declaration was published, that the military now feels like it has "regained its health" after having practically endured a "state of indigestion" for such a long time, and that now is the time to maximize the pressure on the North using the "military edge."
They then stressed that gaining "military edge" is the "strongest" among the "advantages" they hold over the North, that the "military edge" is the quickest way to convince the [North] to "give up nuclear [programme] first" and "open and reform itself," and that the potential to keep pressuring us comes from "military edge."
In reality, the South Korean puppet military warmongers are concentrating effort on stirring up antagonism and establishing a "view on principal enemy" and are giving spurs to intensifying the combat readiness of the units of the ground forces, navy, and air force and stepping up the planned arms buildup, while noisily calling for, internally, raising consciousness of "security" which has slackened over the past ten years, and paying no attention to the implementation of all the military agreements reached between the North and South.
All kinds of espionage activities intensified in the ground, seas, and air and undisguised military provocations in areas along the demarcation line where the North and South stand face to face, including maritime transgression, bear close resemblance to the situation on the eve of a war.
Recently, they have staged large-scale aerial and maritime strike exercises one after another with the deployment of a group of combat vessels, including [a] nuclear-powered submarine, and even latest strike flying corps such as "F-15K" fighters of the United States and its satellites in South Korea and its neighbouring areas while asserting that the "military edge" being maintained with the relations of "alliance" as the main part of its axis would become a means of putting heavier pressure on us.
At the request of traitor Lee Myung-bak, squadrons of strategic bombers belonging to US imperialist forces of aggression air force carrying nuclear bombs are enthusing over long-distance navigation flights to the South Korea region even at this moment, assuming objectives in depth of our country as the targets to strike.
Creating tension and aggravating confrontation through "military edge" is an intolerable anti-national act and anti-peace behaviour of trampling underfoot the nation's precious desire for living in a peaceful environment and bringing about new clashes and war.
In a word, calling for "military edge" can only be regarded as an undisguised negation of the three principles of national reunification and a non-aggression agreement between the North and South and as a serious challenge of declaring war on us.
The military confrontation commotions kicked up by traitor Lee Myung-bak and the bellicose forces of the puppet military are becoming more aggravated as the days go by due to more blindly following their master's manoeuvre to isolate and crush the DPRK and nuclear war strategy while babbling about how they should not fail to seize the favourable opportunity of restoration of relations of "alliance."
The nonsensical words traitor Lee Myung-bak uttered from the beginning of the "presidential election" were silly talk, such as persuading [us] to "open and reform [ourselves]" and "abandon the nuclear [programme] first" which are exactly his masters' harping on "change" and insistence that "[we] abandon the nuclear [programme] first." And the first thing he undertook immediately after taking office as "president" was to order, as the commander-in-chief [kun t'ongsukwo'nja], the forces of the army, navy, and air force into the "Key Resolve" nuclear war exercise conducted according to his masters' war of northward aggression scenario.
The policy and strategy of the South Korean authorities are not their own in the first place, but those of the United States. Traitor Lee Myung-bak was an insignificant businessman having nothing to claim to be his own and who had laid his eyes on a few pennies through a tiny hole opened on a coin. Being such a person, it is obvious that he has no brain to know politics and military affairs and has no choice but to follow his masters' war policy and strategy.
It is also for the purpose of currying favour with his masters and the bellicose forces of the puppet military that [Lee Myung-bak], visiting the puppet military establishments - groups ingrained with pro-US conservatism - and units under their direction, instructed them to raise anti-Republic consciousness "in line with the primary mission of the military" and emphatically urged them to unite in "pushing forward" towards perfecting preparation for war.
Amid this current, warmongers who were made to occupy top positions in the puppet military by traitor Lee Myung-bak, including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, dared to let loose outbursts on a "preemptive strike" against us, claiming that they were toeing the "president's" so-called "philosophy of state affairs" and the latter's changed policy towards the North, without knowing at all about how their fate would change.
Lately, they are running amok with blood shot eyes in preparing to translate a "preemptive strike" into action - including a decision to purchase cruise guided weapons to be used in a "preemptive strike" against us and new type of fighters to be equipped with the former - with the minister of "National Defence" presiding over it.
In particular, these people have gone busy channelling all efforts into marshalling "international cooperation" - political and military - tailored to suit the US policy and strategy towards the DPRK, arguing that they should not miss the good opportunity - the "recovery of the relations of alliance" that have remained alienated - made through traitor Lee Myung-bak's junkets to the United States and Japan.
An exemplary case of this is the fact that the South Korean puppet military heads [udumo'ri] are holding secret discussions almost daily to take follow-up measures about the discontinuation of the reduction of US forces occupying South Korea as promised to their masters and speeding up "three changes [samhwa]" in the military, in other words, "making [the military] extreme [ch'o'myehwa]," "making [the military] an elite [force]," and "making the military efficient" in line with the conditions - the enhanced status in purchase of military equipment from the United States.
Also, that they are hurrying up practical preparations to take part at any cost in the missile defence system and the "Proliferation Security Initiative I" as called for by the masters and send troops to the international war on terror is an irrefutable evidence.
All moves show that the advances traitor Lee Myung-bak made to signal his intention to "improve relations," saying at every opportunity that the South will change and the North should change accordingly - is nothing more than a Machiavellian trick aimed at deceiving public opinion at home and abroad and getting out of a blind alley and that their real intention is to change our Republic which is highly dignified thanks to its independence to make it like South Korea which is politically subjugated to US-style political system by taking advantage of the US manoeuvre of isolating and stifling the DPRK and suffocate us militarily by following the masters' nuclear war strategy.
Aggravating military tension and confrontation according to the master's aggressive policy and war scenario is a new type of nation-selling and treason against the people in the new century that, oblivious of the lesson taught by history, once again invites nation-selling through flunkeyism and submission, embraces the life-long sworn enemies that left an indelible grudge on us, and attempts to crush fellow countrymen by force.
The military confrontation commotion kicked up by traitor Lee Myung-bak and the bellicose forces of the puppet military has reached an even more serious stage as it blocks the historic 15 June Joint Declaration and the 4 October Declaration, the action programme for the former, by deliberately straining the situation.
After becoming "president," traitor Lee Myung-bak belittled the By Our Nation ideal's significance in the history of the nation, the fundamental spirit of the 15 June Joint Declaration, and accused all the North-South agreements focused on national reconciliation and unity of being "lavish giveaway."
In addition, he grouped even what has been agreed in the precious 4 October Declaration into "things to do," "things to be done later," and "things that cannot be done" and blocked their implementation by aggravating military tension and confrontation.
It is none other than the bellicose forces of the South Korean puppet military who stubbornly cling to the military confrontation commotion, dancing to the tune of traitor Lee Myung-bak's moves as such.
A case in point is the indiscreet moves made by the South Korean puppet naval vessels that cling to the defence of the "Northern Limit Line [NLL]" through undisguised acts of military transgression, ignoring the North-South agreement on setting up "a special area for peace and cooperation in the West Sea [Yellow Sea]."
Chief of Naval Operations of the South Korean puppet military is openly talking nonsense that the "NLL" in question is their maritime boundary line and Air Force Chief of Staff emphasized that the [Air Force] would fulfil its mission of defending the skies with the "NLL" as the centre.
As the situation became dangerous, voices are ringing out from the South Korean people from all walks of life denouncing the moves of the bellicose forces of the puppet military that are playing into Lee Myung-bak's hands as a reckless behaviour of those who rush about with a "hot potato" in their hands and as a brigandish sophistry of claiming other people's courtyard to be theirs.
Simply speaking, insisting on defending the illegal, unlawful "NLL" amounts to an exposure of the brazenness and ignorant appearance of traitor Lee Myung-bak and the bellicose forces of the puppet military determined to unreasonably keep it [the NLL] in place, even though they are well aware of who set up the line for what purpose and under what circumstances and in what way it was set up and how it contravenes the demands of the international law and the North-South agreement.
In the past the bellicose forces of the puppet South Korean military clung to their acts of infiltration into the territorial waters of our side under the pretext of "controlling ships of third country" and "identifying suspected target," asserting that they would show their will to preserve the "NLL" in practice. These days, however, they have escalated the degree of infiltration with the deployment of huge naval armed forces in the West Sea, openly vociferating about the defence of the "NLL."
Like fools who rush in where angels fear to tread, they infiltrate a large number of naval vessels into the territorial waters of our side and let them stay there for as long as three to five days, while deliberately thrusting even civilian fishing boats into [the territorial waters of our side] for fishing operations.
They are gradually expanding the areas of territorial waters of our side to which they infiltrate, from the waters southwest of Yo'np'yo'ng Island to waters east of Taech'o'ng Island and northwest of Paengnyo'ng Island.
The attempt of traitor Lee Myung-bak and the bellicose forces of the puppet military to attain their sinister goal through reckless acts is a foolish pipedream that can never be realized.
The military confrontation commotion kicked up by the bellicose forces of the puppet South Korean military nakedly shows that the Lee Myung-bak gang is really a group of traitors of the nation that block the development of the North-South relations and peace and prosperity, that they are the war servants bringing clouds of war to hang over this land, and that they are anti-reunification group seeking the division.
The more military tension and confrontation aggravate, the more perilous the North-South relations will become and it will never help settle the nuclear issue and ensure peace and stability of the Far Eastern region.
Also, it will not be helpful to the "economic revival" on which Lee Myung-bak heavily stakes his fate.
Once on the downward slope, a train in trouble is bound to gather more speed with the passage of time.
Repeated clouding is bound to result in raining.
Aggravated military tension and confrontation will lead to clashes and the third skirmish in the West Sea and the second 25 June war.
In the face of the prevailing grave situation, our revolutionary armed forces are maintaining a state of high agitation [kyo'ktong sangt'ae], closely watching the development of the situation.
Although we want improved North-South relations and peace and prosperity, we are never afraid of military clashes or war.
Under no circumstances should traitor Lee Myung-bak and the bellicose forces of the puppet South Korean military act rashly, bearing in mind that the only thing military tension and confrontation will bring to them is a disgraceful destruction and a grave.
Source: KCNA, Pyongyang, in Korean 0000 gmt 8 May 08
