Cheong Wa Dae on Monday urged South Korean media outlets to be cautious in reporting matters that concern national security and North Korea, ahead of President Moon Jae-in’s departure for New York.

Reports had misinterpreted US President Donald Trump’s tweet mocking the North Korean leader and the country’s fuel shortages. The tweet, however, was misinterpreted by some South Korean news organizations as being criticism of Moon’s hopes for closer economic cooperation among the South, the North and Russia.

“It is very regretful that some organizations have left the reports until this morning without any explanations,” a Cheong Wa Dae official said in a rare briefing concerning media reports. 


Saying that the media should prioritize accurate verification and interpretation of facts, the official added that it appears that South Korean media has the tendency to believe that the US president is critical of the South.

Late Sunday, Trump posted a tweet that seemed to refer to North Korea’s fuel shortages brought on by increasing international pressure on the regime and mocked Kim Jong-un by calling him “Rocket Man.”

“I spoke with President Moon of South Korea last night. Asked him how Rocket Man is doing. Long gas lines forming in North Korea. Too bad!” the tweet read.

However, a number of local news outlets had misinterpreted the phrase “long gas lines” in Trump’s tweet to mean pipelines, and implied that the US president had criticized the economic project Moon envisions for the Korean Peninsula.

In his keynote speech at the Eastern Economic Forum held earlier this month in Vladivostok, Moon said that a gas pipe line could be built from Russia, through North Korea and into South Korea, if issues surrounding the rogue regime are resolved.

The misinterpreted reports quickly spread online, prompting concerns as well as mockery from internet users who spotted the mistake.

Trump’s latest tweet on North Korea comes as White House advisers said that Pyongyang would face destruction if it continues its provocations.

Asked about Trump’s description of Kim, national security adviser H.R. McMaster said “Rocket Man” was “a new one and I think maybe for the president.”

He added, “That’s where the rockets are coming from. Rockets, though, we ought to probably not laugh too much about because they do represent a great threat to all.”

McMcaster said Kim is “going to have to give up his nuclear weapons because the president has said he’s not going to tolerate this regime threatening the United States and our citizens with a nuclear weapon.”

Asked if that meant Trump would launch a military strike, McMaster said, “He’s been very clear about that, that all options are on the table.”

Trump has threatened to rain “fire and fury” on North Korea if the regime continues with its threats.


By Choi He-suk and news reports (cheesuk@heraldcorp.com)