South Korean authorities are now scrambling to take down a number of viral TikTok music videos praising North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
The TikTok videos, with titles like "Friendly Father" and "Great Leader," were propaganda pieces released by the dictatorial regime last month to bolster Kim Jong Un's influence in the hermit kingdom.
According to Reuters, the release of these new propaganda songs coincides with the renaming of a major North Korean holiday to no longer honor the country's founder, Kim Il Sung-a move experts believe is intended to establish a stronger cult of power around Kim Jong Un.
Viral North Korean Propaganda TikTok Video Is 'Psychological Warfare'
North Korea's ongoing development and testing of long-range missile and nuclear programs frequently threaten South Korea. With heightened tensions between the two countries, Seoul consistently monitors North Korean offensives.
These viral TikTok videos are no exception. The BBC reports that South Korean media regulators flagged this content as violating the country's National Security Act.
Under the law, citizens are prohibited from distributing media promoting the communist regime. The National Security Act also blocks access to North Korean government websites.
One of the pop songs features North Korean armed personnel, doctors, factory workers, and school children singing praises to North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. It also includes typical scenes from the country, such as citizens crowding and crying at the sight of their leader.
According to authorities, the video, now spreading to more South Korean TikTok users, helps "praise, incite, and propagate" the dictatorship's rule.
The regulator emphasized that the content is considered 'psychological warfare' directed against the country, meant to be spread to more people worldwide using platforms like TikTok.
TOPSHOT - A man walks past a television screen showing a news report about the latest North Korean missile launch with images of the North's leader, Kim Jong Un, along a pedestrian walkway in Tokyo on November 3, 2022. - North Korea fired one long-range and two short-range ballistic missiles on November 3, Seoul's military said, with one prompting warnings for residents of a South Korean island and people in parts of northern Japan to seek shelter. RICHARD A. BROOKS/AFP via Getty Images
North Korean Propaganda YouTube Channels Blocked
Seoul's crackdown on pro-North content is not only focused on TikTok. Last year, South Korean regulators successfully blocked a number of YouTube channels purportedly run by North Korean government-backed entities.
According to reports, these accounts spread a 'positive bias' about the isolated country, with vloggers claiming everything was going well in the country during the COVID pandemic. South Korea also took down a number of social media accounts promoting the North last year.
Aside from propaganda drives, the North Korean government is also believed to be behind major hacking incidents affecting important infrastructure in the US.
In 2022, South Korea's spy agency reported that North Korean hackers had stolen around $1.2 billion worth of cryptocurrency in just five years.
Following severe UN sanctions and the COVID-19 pandemic, experts claim North Korea has resorted to hacking and other illegal cyber activities to fund its economy and ambitious nuclear projects.
