Yoon warns against North meddling in April's general elections

President Yoon Suk Yeol said that the North Korean regime is expected to engage in activities to interfere in the elections, including provocations near the inter-Korean border, drone infiltration, dissemination of fake news and cyberattacks.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, front left, presides over the 57th central integrated defense council meeting at the Blue House in central Seoul on Tuesday, attended by some 170 officials and civilians. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday called for an integrated readiness posture to address security risks posed by North Korea, including potential meddling in the South's general elections in April.

"The North Korean regime is the only irrational group in the world that has legalized the preemptive use of nuclear weapons," Yoon said at the 57th central integrated defense council meeting held at the Blue House state guesthouse in central Seoul. "A rational government would give up its nuclear weapons and find a way for its people to survive, but the North Korean regime is willing to go to any lengths to maintain a hereditary totalitarian regime."

Yoon noted that South Korea is facing an important election this year, referring to the April 10 parliamentary elections, and that the North Korean regime is expected to engage in activities to interfere in the elections, including provocations near the inter-Korean border, drone infiltration, dissemination of "fake news" and cyberattacks.

Some 170 people attended the meeting, including officials from the central and local governments, National Intelligence Service, military, police and National Fire Agency, along with civilian experts.

In this year's meeting, the council examined for the first time practical responses to hypothetical North Korean provocations, including a long-range artillery attack as well as cyberattacks and electromagnetic pulse attacks on infrastructure such as airports, according to the presidential office.

Yoon said that North Korea, through its suspected arms deals with Russia recently, is "blatantly ignoring international law and UN Security Council resolutions," calling this a "provocative act" that threatens the Korean Peninsula and global security.

He noted North Korea's continued missiles launches from the beginning of this year and recent remarks made by leader Kim Jong-un, who has rejected the concept of being one people and labeled South Korea as a "hostile country" and a "principal enemy."

"This act in itself is anti-national, anti-unification, and a provocation and a threat that runs counter to history," he said.

At the beginning of the year, North Korea fired hundreds of artillery shells for three consecutive days from its western coast near the maritime border and tested a new solid-fuel intermediate-range hypersonic missile on Jan. 14. On Monday, Pyongyang conducted its third cruise missile salvo in a week.

"This year, our country is facing an important election, a core of the liberal democratic political system," Yoon said. "Over the past 70 years, the North Korean regime has ceaselessly worked toward the collapse of the South Korean liberal democratic system, constantly engaging in social disturbances and psychological warfare in important political years."

This marks the second consecutive year Yoon has attended the central integrated defense council meeting, bringing together government officials, military and police to review the national integrated defense posture and discuss measures to prepare for security threats such as enemy infiltration and provocations. Last year, Yoon was the first president to preside over the defense council meeting in seven years.

Wednesday's meeting included for the first time 11 civilian observers who have contributed to the nation's defense, according to the presidential office, including fishermen who have reported on suspicious maritime activities and residents of border regions.

"Today's meeting is a warning to North Korea that demonstrates our united will," Yoon said, noting that the "military, government agencies and local governments can't be separate in forming an integrated defense policy."

Related agencies evaluated the current security situation and direction, civil defense preparedness and integrated defense preparedness.

Yoon warned that because people are dependent on the internet, cyberattacks could "paralyze state functions and daily lives in an instant." He called for discussion on proactively deterring hackers, combating disinformation, propaganda and incitement, and protecting the country's core infrastructure.

Yoon said there are two aspects of national security: physically defending the country and protecting the safety of the people and safeguarding the liberal democratic system.

He said that after he took office, he instructed military, intelligence and security authorities to create hypothetical scenarios simulating such provocations and to "prepare and train for each scenario," noting that Wednesday's meeting was about "further strengthening the substance."

The central government, military and local governments also presented their respective roles and responses to ensure the safety of the people.

Yoon later had lunch with the attendees, encouraging the efforts of defense-related agencies and expressing gratitude to the public observers.

Later Wednesday, Yoon presided over a meeting of military commanders for a second consecutive year, stressing that strong national defense capabilities and readiness are key factors that can prevent North Korea from shaking the South, the presidential office said in a statement.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]