Seoul seeks steps against possible North Korea intervention in polls

The South Korean government is seeking measures to prevent North Korea from trying to interfere in the South’s upcoming general and presidential elections, government sources said.

In recent weeks, Pyongyang has been increasing anti-Seoul rhetoric through diverse media outlets, attacking President Lee Myung-bak’s administration and the ruling conservative party.

The moves seem to be intended to foster ideological division between conservatives and progressives here and influence the vote in the general election in April and presidential election in December, government officials said.

The conservatives have traditionally been more hawkish on North Korean policy, with the liberals seeking reconciliation and inter-Korean exchanges.

Pyongyang’s state media Korea Central TV aired a military unit, believed to the one that shelled the South’s Yeongpyeongdo in 2010, conducting live fire drills on targets with the names of Lee and the South’s Defense Minister Kim Kwan-jin on Tuesday. The North’s Rodong Sinmun newspaper called Lee a “deranged dog” in an article on Monday.

According to a Unification Ministry analysis, verbal attacks on Lee by North Korea surged to 274 cases in January and 268 cases in February from three in November and six in December. Pyongyang denounced the South Korean leader through three media outlets ― Korea Central TV, Radio Pyongyang and the Rodong Shinmun.

Lee convened a foreign affairs and security ministers’ meeting on Tuesday to discuss the issue. A senior government official said North Korea’s denunciation of the Lee administration might have “side effects” if it becomes too strong.

“If the rhetoric becomes too strong, it will cause the opposite result of what it really wants,” the source said on condition of anonymity.

Despite the anti-Seoul messages and threatening language, North Korea is unlikely to conduct a military provocation in the near future, the source said.

“In the past, North Korea was very silent before the attacks on Cheonan (South’s warship) and Yeonpyeong Island. If it really wants to provoke the South, it will remain silent,” the source said.

By Kim Yoon-mi (yoonmi@heraldcorp.com)