North Korea is trying to influence the upcoming parliamentary elections of the Republic of Korea (ROK) on April 10 with the help of missile launches. This was stated by South Korean President Yoon Seok Yeol.
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“The North Korean regime is trying to undermine our society before the parliamentary elections by continuing missile and other military provocations. These provocations will only unite our people even stronger,” the president said.
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On April 2, according to Seoul, North Korea launched a medium-range ballistic missile towards the Sea of Japan. The South Korean military does not exclude the possibility that hypersonic weapons could be tested. On March 19, the People’s Republic tested the nozzle of a solid fuel jet engine, which is planned to be equipped with a new medium- or long-range hypersonic missile.
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A similar statement was made by the Ministry of Unification of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
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“The government once again seriously calls on North Korea to refrain from malicious attempts that have become more intense recently. We are clear that fake news, propaganda and incitement from North Korea will not work in a liberal democracy,” the department said.
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As the agency explains, recently, in the run-up to the elections, the number of articles in the DPRK press criticizing the South Korean government has increased significantly. In January there were 7 such articles in the Nodong Sinmun newspaper, in February – 12, in March – already 22.
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Access to DPRK media is prohibited on the territory of the Republic of Korea, but an official at the Ministry of Unification noted that the South Korean population can read articles from the DPRK’s leading publications “in various ways.”
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Turnout at foreign polling stations in the parliamentary elections in the Republic of Korea was a record 62.8%, the Central Election Commission reported. Between March 27 and April 1, 92.9 thousand out of 147.9 thousand people with the right to vote voted abroad. Voting abroad took place at 220 polling stations in 115 countries. During the parliamentary elections in 2020, the turnout at polling stations abroad was 23.8% due to the pandemic. In 2016, turnout was recorded at 41.4%
