North Korea or the Public... Conflicting Interpretations of 'North Korean Psychological Warfare' Under Yoon's Directive

Yoon: "North Korea's Unlawful Espionage... Respond to Psychological Warfare"
"Proper North Korea Policy"... Ministry of Unification Conducts Psychological Warfare Targeting Citizens
Research Institute under NIS: "Preparing Strong Psychological Warfare against North Korea"

President Yoon Suk-yeol's order to conduct 'psychological warfare' in response to North Korea's espionage operations has sparked varied interpretations. While the Ministry of Unification has revealed plans for a 'psychological warfare campaign targeting the public' to establish a proper stance toward North Korea, experts have pointed out that "psychological warfare is an operation against an enemy state."

On the 6th, a Ministry of Unification official told reporters that in response to a question about preparations for the president's directive on psychological warfare, "We must effectively conduct psychological warfare to prevent our citizens from falling for North Korea's malicious attempts, such as recent espionage cases, and we will strive to ensure that the public holds a proper view toward North Korea." When asked again whether the target of the psychological warfare is our citizens, the official replied, "Yes."

'Order for Countermeasure Against North Korea'... Ministry of Unification: "We Will Conduct Psychological Warfare Targeting the Public"

President Yoon Suk-yeol Photo by Yonhap News

On the 5th, at the 2nd National Task Inspection Meeting held at the Blue House State Guest House, President Yoon said, "Recent investigations have revealed that domestic organizations carried out espionage activities under the instructions of institutions affiliated with North Korea's United Front Department," adding, "If such activities are conducted by North Korea's unification-related agencies, our Ministry of Unification also needs to prepare psychological warfare countermeasures well to prevent our citizens from falling for them."

The president's remarks are interpreted as an order to inform the public about North Korea's espionage operations and to launch psychological warfare based on factors such as the reality of North Korean human rights abuses and other pressures on North Korea. The Ministry of Unification focused on the phrase "to prevent falling for espionage activities" and interpreted the target of psychological warfare as the "public." The ministry aims to establish a proper stance toward North Korea and ensure that citizens are not deceived by North Korea's espionage activities.

On the other hand, Professor Je Seong-ho of Chung-Ang University Law School, who served as North Korean Human Rights Ambassador, criticized, "Psychological warfare fundamentally refers to operations against external enemies, so it is wrong for the Ministry of Unification to say it will conduct psychological warfare internally targeting the public," adding, "There is a problem with the perception of Ministry of Unification officials." He further stated, "What the Ministry of Unification should do first is to promptly revise the interpretation guidelines of the law banning North Korean leaflets, which restrict freedom of expression."

Typical psychological warfare methods against North Korea include leaflet distribution and loudspeaker broadcasts. Considering President Yoon's strong will to "substantially implement the North Korean Human Rights Act" and the ruling party's push to repeal the law banning North Korean leaflets as a party policy, the president's order for "countermeasure psychological warfare" can also be interpreted as a call to find ways to reactivate psychological warfare methods currently blocked by the controversial and constitutionally disputed law banning North Korean leaflets.

However, immediate legislative amendments are practically impossible in the current National Assembly, where the ruling party holds fewer seats than the opposition. Therefore, revising the Ministry of Unification's own interpretation guidelines is being considered as a way to reactivate psychological warfare methods. While the law prohibits leaflet distribution around the Military Demarcation Line, the Ministry of Unification's guidelines expand and specify the ban to "south of the Military Demarcation Line." These guidelines are evaluated as an extralegal interpretation effectively banning leaflet distribution throughout the Korean Peninsula.

Research Institute Under the National Intelligence Service: "Psychological Warfare Is Stronger Than Nuclear Weapons"

Yoo Sung-ok, Chairman of the Institute for National Security Strategy (INSS), is delivering the keynote speech at the 2023 NK Forum held by the institute on the 5th, themed "Prospects and Challenges of North Korea's Denuclearization and Regime Change."
[Photo by Institute for National Security Strategy]

On the day President Yoon ordered "psychological warfare," Yoo Sung-ok, director of the National Security Strategy Research Institute, stated, "Psychological warfare is the 'only asymmetric weapon with superiority over North Korea' and will be a weapon stronger than nuclear weapons against the closed North Korean regime," presenting psychological warfare as an offset strategy against the North Korean nuclear threat.

The institute is a government-funded research organization under the National Intelligence Service (NIS) in the form of a corporation, conducting research in diplomacy, security, and defense fields requested by the government. The projects undertaken by the institute are based on strategic directions of interest to the NIS. In particular, since Director Yoo Sung-ok is a former head of the NIS psychological warfare unit, his remarks are interpreted as "prepared statements" that grasp the president's intentions.

According to intelligence authorities, North Korea has conducted psychological warfare targeting South Korea as a 'disintegration strategy' aimed at internal division, in addition to nuclear and missile provocations. The recent 'Democratic Labor Union Spy Group' incident is a representative example. However, due to the history of the Korean Central Intelligence Agency (KCIA) and the Agency for National Security Planning (ANSP), Korean society harbors a unique distrust of intelligence agencies, making it difficult for intelligence agencies to actively engage in psychological warfare, unlike in the United States and other countries.

An intelligence official explained, "The detailed disclosure of North Korea's internal information or weapon systems by South Korean and U.S. intelligence agencies is also a form of psychological warfare." In fact, South Korea and the U.S. have disclosed internal information about the Kim Jong-un regime during major North Korean provocations. For example, in early last month, the National Assembly Intelligence Committee reported detailed facts such as Kim Jong-un's daughter Kim Ju-ae enjoying horseback riding and skiing while being homeschooled.

Meanwhile, Kang In-duk, a distinguished professor at Gyeongnam National University’s Far East Research Institute and the first Minister of Unification during the Kim Dae-jung administration, emphasized in his memoir published last December that "broadcasts and leaflets targeting North Korea are powerful asymmetric strategic assets" and "it is now time to actively conduct psychological warfare against North Korea." He is regarded as a top expert in North Korean psychological warfare, having served as head of the North Korean Information Bureau and psychological warfare bureau at the KCIA.

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