N. Korea links dive in S. Korean leader's popularity to Panmunjom Declaration

SEOUL, Aug. 27 (Yonhap) -- North Korea's media on Monday said the recent fall in the approval rating of South Korea's leadership has been caused by its failure to faithfully carry out the Panmunjom Declaration signed at April's inter-Korean summit to promote peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula.

The North's external propaganda media Meari said in a commentary that South Korea's president and ruling party should not try to handle inter-Korean relations within the framework of North Korea-U.S. relations.

"Recently, the public approval ratings of South Korea's incumbent authority and ruling party have dived. The fall has been caused by their indecisiveness, absence of independent principle and views and their failure to faithfully implement the Panmunjom Declaration," the commentary said.

The incumbent South Korean authority mentioned in the Meari commentary apparently refers to President Moon Jae-in. The North's media has frequently referred to South Korea's president as the South's "authority" or "ruler."

Indeed, Moon's approval rating tumbled to a record low of 56 percent in a poll conducted last week by Realmeter, a Seoul-based pollster, with analysts here attributing his falling popularity to economic slowdown. The ruling Democratic Party's approval rating, however, gained 2.3 percentage points to 41.9 percent, ending its three-week streak of declines.

The Meari commentary went on to say, "As the South's authority and ruling party try to deal with the inter-Korean relations within the framework of the North-U.S. relations, the implementation of the Panmunjom Declaration now appears to be almost impossible."

"The (South Korean) people would never be supportive, as their leader fails to fulfill his own duty and remains as a bystander," the commentary argued.

A similar commentary posted Saturday by another North Korean propaganda website, Uriminzokkiri, also put pressure on the Moon government, saying the falling approval rating of South Korean leadership is a dire warning from the people about its surrender to U.S. pressure.

ycm@yna.co.kr
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