North Korea is ramping up efforts to fuel anti-South Korea sentiment during the joint U.S.-South Korea military exercise, Freedom Shield (FS), by invoking a rhetoric of “unwavering determination.”
The official newspaper of the ruling Workers’ Party, Rodong Sinmun, reported Thursday that “the current tense situation is igniting the hearts of three generations with hatred and a strong resolve against the enemy.”
According to the report, approximately 600 senior students from a high school in North Pyongan Province have volunteered to enlist for frontline duty to defend their homeland.
The newspaper stated, “The military exercises of the U.S. and South Korea, aimed at our republic, are being conducted more aggressively than ever before.” It added that these students, “with unshakable resolve, have stepped forward to confront imperialist provocations for nuclear war and to protect the nation’s sovereignty and peace for the people.”
This is the fifth report on high school seniors enlisting for frontline service since February 27. It provides near-daily updates during the ongoing U.S.-South Korea military drills.
The newspaper also noted that various labor organizations have been focusing on education programs to intensify anti-imperialist sentiment, organizing multiple meetings to promote this agenda.
The Rodong Sinmun emphasized that “all workers and union members must prepare themselves as vanguard fighters, armed with a strong anti-enemy consciousness.”
The report also condemned the large-scale joint military exercises, describing them as “recklessly provocative actions that escalate the already tense situation on the Korean Peninsula to dangerous levels,” while emphasizing the need to “dramatically increase political and military power in response.”
North Korea, which has repeatedly condemned U.S.-South Korea joint military exercises as invasion drills, seems to be using this training period to intensify anti-South Korea sentiment among its people and strengthen internal unity.