North's escalating rhetoric is a strategy to 'minimize internal unrest,' South says

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's continued harsh rhetoric against South Korea, labeling it as "filthy scum," appears to be a strategy to quell domestic dissatisfaction amid widespread flood damage, said the South Korean government on Monday.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un hugs a child during his visit to a temporary shelter in Uiju County in North Pyongan Province to offer support to flood-damaged areas, in this photo released by the state-run Korean Central News Agency on Aug. 10. [NEWS1]

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's continued harsh rhetoric against South Korea, labeling it as "filthy scum," appears to be a strategy to quell domestic dissatisfaction amid the widespread flood damage in North Korea, said the South Korean government on Monday.

"In an emergency situation where North Korea must mobilize all social resources due to large-scale flood damage, it seems they are redirecting the blame externally to minimize internal unrest," said Koo Byoung-sam, spokesperson for South Korea's Unification Ministry, during a regular briefing on Monday.

Observers noted that it is uncommon for North Korea's top leader to directly address South Korean media reports, which are usually inaccessible to the North Korean public. This unusual move suggests that the regime is deliberately driving anti-South sentiment to prevent public dissatisfaction from being directed toward the North's ruling Workers' Party or Kim himself.

During his visit to Uiju County in North Pyongan from Aug. 8 to 9, Kim delivered a speech to flood victims, accusing the South Korean media of "fabricating" reports about the severity of the damage.

"It is important to inform Party organizations, working people’s organizations at all levels, various networks of education and the people of these facts, and thus make them have a correct understanding of the ROK scum bordering on us," Kim said, according to the North's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in an English-language report. ROK is an abbreviation for South Korea.

Kim dismissed South Korean media reports, which cited intelligence sources and claimed that "the missing persons in the afflicted areas exceed 1,000 in number and several helicopters had fallen on rescue missions," as entirely false. He added, "Why do we call the enemy 'the enemy' and 'scum'?" and referred to South Korea as an "unchangeable enemy."

Earlier, on Aug. 3, Kim visited an Air Force helicopter unit that had rescued residents nearly isolated by floods. While there, he similarly criticized South Korean media for spreading "fabricated news reports," referring to them as "garbage media."

A new black SUV with a Mercedes-Benz logo is spotted at North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's speech on measures to support flood victims during his visit to a temporary shelter in Uiju County in North Pyongan in this photo released by the state-run Korean Central News Agency on Aug. 10. [YONHAP]

During his Aug. 8 to 9 visit, Kim Jong-un's new official vehicle was spotted once again. Photos released by the KCNA showed Kim delivering a speech to flood victims from a platform created by fully opening the doors of a train car. Behind the open door, a black SUV with a Mercedes-Benz logo was visible.

The vehicle is believed to be a new luxury model from German automaker Mercedes-Benz, which was released just four months ago in South Korea. This sighting suggests that despite international sanctions against North Korea, luxury goods, including high-end vehicles, continue to be imported into the country.

Following Kim’s derogatory remarks regarding Seoul, Pyongyang launched more than 240 trash-laden balloons across the border over the weekend. This marks the 11th time this year that it has sent waste-laden balloons into South Korean territory.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]