DPRK blasts ROK media amid rumors of defense chief's execution

A man watches a ROK's TV news program reporting that DPRK's Armed Forces Minister Hyon Yong-chol was killed by anti-aircraft gunfire, at Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, May 13, 2015. [Photo/IC]

PYONGYANG - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Sunday condemned media of the Republic of Korea (ROK) for "hurting its highest dignity," after they have stirred up a rumor that a senior DPRK defense official has been executed.

The editorial bureau of Uriminzokkiri, a major publicity website of the DPRK, said in a statement that the ROK media are keenly launching a "war of press" by hyping the DPRK leadership as practicing "politics of purge" and "political terrorism."

It also slammed Kim Moo-sung, a delegate of the ROK's ruling Saenuri Party, who said the political system of the DPRK is unstable and Seoul should immediately make preparations to "unite the peninsula."

The statement also urged the ROK to stop slandering the DPRK's dignity and its system.

However, the statement did not mention if the rumored execution of Hyon Yong-chol, minister of People's Armed Forces, was true or not.

The ROK analysts have claimed that the fact that Pyongyang's first reaction was not to deny the alleged execution but to blast the ROK media for defaming the country's dignity suggests that the chances are high that the rumor is true.