"South Korean Soldiers Are Paper Cats" North Korean Media Mentions Sexual Assault Incidents and Claims South Koreans Deplore the Military

[경향신문]

On October 16, the Korean Central News Agency reported that a Central Youth Arts Propaganda Concert was held at the Central Youth Hall on October 15, in time for the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Down-with-Imperialism Union by Kim Il-sung. Pyongyang, Korean Central News Agency / Yonhap News

North Korea mentioned the sexual assault incidents in the South Korean military, which were recently criticized in a parliamentary inspection, and said, “South Korean citizens are raising their voices in condemning the military claiming they are not even paper tigers, but paper cats.”

On October 21, Meari, a North Korean state propaganda site claimed, “The weakness of the military revealed in the South Korean parliamentary inspection is currently the target of criticism from the South Korean citizens.”

The media outlet presented statistics presented by the South Korean lawmakers: 48 fatal accidents in the South Korean military from January to June this year; 5 suicides by female soldiers who were sexually assaulted (January-September 2021); and 518 cases of desertion in the last four years. The media outlet used these figures as the grounds for its criticism.

The propaganda site further reported, “The human rights center inside the military received reports of 26 cases, but a private military human rights center received 451 cases,” and argued, “The South Korean soldiers’ trust in the military has dropped that significantly.”

Meari also reported, “South Korean people are raising their voices in condemning the military claiming they were not even paper tigers, but paper cats.”

Last month when South Korea test launched a submarine-launched ballistic missile that it developed, North Korea argued that it was just “a meaningless boast.”