Kim Jong-un ordered propaganda war against Park gov't: official

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un was found to have ordered an intensified propaganda war against the Park Geun-hye administration last month in a possible policy shift, a South Korean government official said Wednesday.

The official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said South Korean authorities picked up intelligence that Kim ordered Kim Yang-gon, the head of United Front Department of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, to lash out at Park and her government.

The United Front and its head is in charge of inter-Korean relations and exercises power over the North's spy agency.

"The order was given in early October, and right after, the North's various media outlets started to increase verbal assaults against the incumbent president and her government," he said. Park took office in late February.

The insider said judging by the way the attacks picked up pace and the harsh language used, there is a good chance that the intelligence is true, although it may take a while to verify it through other means.

North Korean media outlets and Internet sites have started to refer to Park, the daughter of former South Korean leader Park Chung-hee, as a "dictator" who takes after her father. They have even used foul language to insult the president.

The late Park, who ruled South Korea for 18 years, is credited with bringing about the country's economic prosperity, but his authoritarian rule saw many human rights abuses.

The North has accused the Seoul government of using the ongoing trial of Rep. Lee Seok-ki of the minor opposition Unified Progressive Party as a political plot to weaken liberals and progressives.

Lee and several others are on trial for allegedly plotting to overthrow the South Korean government.

The North may have been supporting a coalition of opponents to the Park government to further weaken Park's public support base, the official said.

The move, if proven, may signal a policy shift by the North.

"Instead of trying to work with the South, Pyongyang and its leader may have opted to weaken President Park and rally support around the opposition in hopes of dealing with a more accommodating government down the line," a researcher at a state think tank said, adding the North may want to make Park less hardline and more conciliatory toward Pyongyang. (Yonhap News)