North Korea: "Japan Persecuting Chongryon Will Pay a Heavy Price"

"Threats and Extortion Targeting Young Joseon School Students"

Kim Jong-un, General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jang Hee-jun] North Korea warned that Japan will pay a "high price" for its oppression, claiming that Japan is unjustly persecuting the General Association of Korean Residents in Japan (Chongryon). Chongryon is a pro-North Korean organization in Japan that claims to be an autonomous body defending the rights and freedoms of Korean residents in Japan, but in reality, it is regarded as a vanguard of North Korea.

On the 16th, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) issued a commentary titled "Japan Reactionaries' Anti-Republic, Anti-Chongryon Acts Will Pay a High Price," stating, "We consider the persecution and oppression of Chongryon and Korean residents in Japan as a challenge and violation of our Republic's dignity and sovereignty," and threatened, "The hostile acts of Japan reactionaries against the Republic and Chongryon will pay a high price."

It continued, "The Japan reactionaries are extending their threats and intimidation even to Chongryon and young Korean school students," and claimed, "Recently, by inciting right-wing thugs, they have repeatedly committed vile acts against Chongryon institutions and Korean residents in Japan, including 12 incidents of threats, assaults, and verbal abuse against our schools and students."

Furthermore, it criticized, "By instilling extreme hostility and fear toward our Republic and Chongryon among the Japanese people, they aim to justify their anti-Korean (anti-North) invasion acts and create a favorable situation to accelerate their militarization."

North Korean ballistic missile
[Image source=Yonhap News]

In particular, it raised the level of its offensive by referring to the intermediate-range ballistic missile (IRBM) that flew over the Japanese archipelago on the 4th of last month. The IRBM, presumed to be the 'Hwasong-12' type, passed over the northern part of the Tohoku region near Aomori Prefecture and fell into the Pacific Ocean.

The news agency stated, "We solemnly declared that the launch of the new ground-to-ground intermediate-range ballistic missile on October 4 was a warning to the enemies in response to the unstable situation on the Korean Peninsula," and argued, "Whether this warning leads to actual results depends entirely on the attitude of hostile forces, including Japan."

This KCNA commentary appears to target the recent hate crimes against Korean schools in Japan. According to Japan's Kyodo News and others, numerous hate speeches containing keywords such as 'Korean' and 'Korean school' have been confirmed on Japanese social networking services (SNS).

Meanwhile, North Korea has also expressed strong vigilance against the recent strengthening of security cooperation among South Korea, the United States, and Japan.

The news agency said, "On October 6, Kishida called South Korean officials to demand strengthening of anti-Republic military cooperation among the United States, Japan, and South Korea," and added, "Japan reactionaries have once again revealed their intention to participate in the anti-Korean invasion acts by providing part of the Japanese archipelago as a sortie base for the large-scale joint air exercise 'Vigilant Storm' conducted by the United States and South Korea, which directly targets our country."

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