An incident occurred in Ryanggang Province, North Korea, when an attempt was made to erase the ' National Reunification ' slogan engraved on a rock, and even the slogan praising Kim Il Sung disappeared along with it . Reporter Moon Seong-hwi reports on North Korea's internal news .
A resident source in Ryanggang Province ( requesting anonymity for personal safety reasons ) told Free Asia Radio on the 27th of last month , “ On February 13th , just before Kim Jong- il ’s birthday, an incident occurred where the entire relief rock disappeared from the Hyesan - Samjiyeon road . ” “There was such a commotion that the border guard soldiers and security officers who received the information were urgently dispatched, ” he said .
“ There was a lone rock on the Hyesan - Samjiyeon road between Yeonpung-dong and Hwajeon-ri in Hyesan City . On both sides of the rock, the slogans ‘ National Reunification ’ and ‘ Long Live General Kim Il-sung ’ were engraved in red . ” “ The rock with the slogans engraved on it. “In that sense, people called this rock ‘ Guho Rock ,’ ” the source explained .
The source said, “ Underneath the slogan, the year and date of June 4 , 1967 were written in small letters, ” adding, “ June 4 , 1967 marks the 30th anniversary of the ‘ victory in the Battle of Pochonbo .’ This day marks the 30th anniversary of the victory in the Battle of Pochonbo, and in Hyesan, Yanggang Province, there is a 38.7 meter high “ The 30.3- meter- long ‘ Pochonbo Battle Victory Monument ’ was built, ” the source explained .
This relief rock, which appeared at the same time as the ' Pochonbo Battle Victory Monument ' , has been watching the rise and fall of North Korea for the past 56 years, greeting numerous tourers and residents visiting the Baekdu Mountain Revolutionary Battle Site next to the road .
The source said , “ This rock is a small rock, about 3.5 meters in height and 1.5 meters in circumference, so the relief was not engraved in a large and grand manner. ” “ However , the Yanggang Province Relief Document Management Bureau removes the surrounding trees and grass every year and paints the letters in red.” He added, “ It was easy to see from afar . ”
In relation to this, another resident of Ryanggang Province ( requesting anonymity for personal safety ) also reported on the 28th , “ While erasing the ‘ National Reunification ’ slogan carved on a natural rock, the back of the rock broke and even the slogan ‘ Long live General Kim Il-sung ’ was damaged. “This occurred and became a laughing stock for the residents of Ryanggang Province, ” he said .
The source said , “ When the incident occurred, the Yanggang Province Relief Document Management Bureau immediately removed the debris with the excavator used to erase the slogans and destroyed the remaining rock traces, ” adding, “ When the rock with the slogan engraved on it suddenly disappeared ahead of Kim Jong-il’s birthday, residents did not know the story. “I couldn’t hide the chill that ran down my spine, ” he added .
“ Some residents who thought that people who were dissatisfied with the Kim Jong-un regime had destroyed the rock with the slogan engraved on it reported this to the nearby Yeonpung police station , ” he said . “I had to suffer because of the reporting, ” the source explained .
The source said , “ It seems that the rock already had many cracks that were not visible from the time the slogan was carved on it, ” adding, “ As time went by, the cracks got worse, and when we tried to erase the letters again, it seems the rock could not withstand it and collapsed. ” pointed out .
He added, “ Since early February , work has been progressing rapidly to remove expressions such as national unification , one nation , and three thousand miles from slogans and propaganda materials across the country . ”