Cheong Wa Dae on Report of 'Military Reprimand for Criticizing North Korea': "Exaggerated Report Worse Than False News"

Cheong Wa Dae Panorama / Photo by Moon Honam munonam@

[Asia Economy Reporter Son Sun-hee] The Blue House dismissed on the 15th reports claiming that senior military officials were reprimanded after North Korea criticized South Korea's joint defense exercises on the northwestern islands, stating, "There were discussions and debates, but no reprimands," and called it "exaggerated reporting worse than false news."

Kang Min-seok, spokesperson for the Blue House, held a briefing at the press center in the afternoon and said, "The meeting at the time was a policy promotion review meeting and had nothing to do with military training or operations," adding, "The attendees were public relations personnel from each military branch, not senior officials." It was reported that Kim Yoo-geun, the First Deputy Director of the National Security Office, attended the meeting on behalf of the Blue House.

Earlier, a media outlet reported that "on the 8th, immediately after North Korea condemned South Korea's joint defense exercises on the northwestern islands, the National Security Office summoned officials from the Ministry of National Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Army, Navy, and Air Force to the Blue House to investigate the situation."

Regarding this, a key Blue House official explained, "The president is the commander-in-chief, and it is natural for the National Security Office, which assists the president, to hold frequent meetings with the military," adding, "Moreover, if North Korea shows reactions that could escalate military tensions, it is the National Security Office's duty to hold meetings to understand the causes and determine how to respond."

He further criticized, "The article unilaterally claims this as 'shielding North Korea' without presenting any special logical basis," calling it a "Cold War perspective." He also pointed out, "The article rather stirs public security anxiety and is not helpful to national security."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.