A North Korean defector who fled Kim Jong-un’s brutal regime has criticized Keir Starmer for proudly describing himself as a “socialist”.
The Labor leader made the comment earlier this week before describing himself as a “progressive” leader as he set out his vision for the country he hopes to soon govern.
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But Jihyun Park, who fled North Korea for the United Kingdom in 2008, was quick to express concerns as someone who was once forced to live under a socialist dictatorship.
She told The Sun: “In North Korea, socialism is associated with the authoritarian regime of the Kim dynasty, which imposes strict state control over all aspects of life and suppresses dissent.
“For someone from North Korea, this form of socialism is synonymous with oppression, poverty and lack of personal freedoms.
“When Keir Starmer, who leads a democratic party in a free society, calling itself socialist may seem contradictory and misleading.”
Starmer made controversial comments in an interview with BBC on Monday.
He said: “I would describe myself as a socialist. I describe myself as a progressive.
“I would describe myself as someone who always puts the country first and the party second.”
Leftists are easily influenced by propaganda and lose sight of their roots, making them unstable
North Korea also describes itself as an “independent socialist state” in its constitution.
Although experts and critics have constantly raised the question of how socialist the country is.
It is well known for having one of the worst human rights records in the world under the dictatorship of the Kim family – currently led by the tyrant Kim Jong-un.
Starmer first ran for a top job in the Labor Party in 2020, on a more explicitly left-wing platform.
Although many say he moved much closer to the center.
Ms. Park was quick to make clear her views on the differences between the Labor Party’s socialism and what it represents in North Korea.
She said: “The NHS is a social public service, not a socialist ideology.
“Many Brits wrongly associate it with socialism because the Labor Party established it, but this service was not founded on ideology.”
Jihyun Park’s complicated life
JIHYUN Park’s journey to the West and liberation from North Korea required many years of struggle.
She was born and raised in North Korea in 1968, but it wasn’t until she was 40 that she reached British shores.
Ms. Park worked as a teacher before her escape attempts, the first of which occurred in the late 1990s after the country was devastated by mass famine.
However, after striking a deal with traffickers to flee north to China, she was soon sold into modern slavery – during which time she gave birth to her son.
She would eventually be repatriated to a North Korean prison camp five years later.
Her brother, with whom she made her first escape attempt, was sent back immediately – and she still doesn’t know what happened to him.
After nearly dying from a leg injury in one of the prison camps, she made her second escape attempt in 2004.
This time, she successfully fled to reunite with her son in China and eventually found help in Beijing to move to the UK.
Upon arrival, she initially struggled with the language barrier, but is now a British citizen and would become the first person of North Korean origin to stand for election in the UK.
Mrs Park, who now lives in Bury, told the Sun she believes in “personal responsibility, family values and capitalism”.
Now in her 50s, she unsuccessfully stood for the role of Conservative councilor on Bury Metropolitan Borough Council in 2021.
She said: “Since arriving in the UK I have witnessed significant changes.
“The political landscape has evolved, with major events like Brexit reshaping the nation’s identity and policies.
“The reason conservatives can fight steadfastly without collapsing is that they have a stick to support themselves, while leftists are easily swayed by propaganda and lose sight of their roots, making them unstable.”
North Korea has frequently struck News due to its nuclear weapons program and rocket testing.
Then-US President Donald Trump exchanged fiery rhetoric with Kim Jong-un in 2017, but the two would eventually shake hands in a historic meeting. next year.
But Park was skeptical about the value of Trump’s meetings with Kim.
She said: “I liked Trump when he started on the first team because he fought against the Chinese Community Party and also against the dictator of North Korea.
“But when he met Kim Jong-un twice, I knew he never worked with people, this is all kind of show.”
NORTH KOREA REGIME
The 25 million people in North Korea are thought to live under a form of communist rule, where their daily lives are strictly controlled by their government.
People have to ask permission to travel and hardly anyone can enter the country with thorough checks and permission from the State.
One of the most complicated areas of everyday life, however, is how civilians receive news and media.
All TVs and radios are tuned only to state-owned or Kim-sponsored channels.
North Korea is also known for spreading propaganda within its country in order to keep everyone aligned with its leader’s views.
Anyone caught listening to or watching material outside of what the dictator considered “worthy” could face very strict punishments.
Earlier this year, the hellish regime was exposed when two teenage students were sent to the gulag for watching banned television.
They face 12 years in prison with hard labor for watching K-dramas after being handcuffed and publicly shamed in a stadium full of students.
Reports suggest that the clip, which was filmed, was used across North Korea to educate younger citizens and scare them away from watching “seedy recordings.”
Kim also released a bizarre, propaganda-filled new pop song earlier this month – with a sinister hidden message, experts have warned.
Titled Friendly Father, the song praises the North Korean dictator – calling him “warm-hearted like his mother” and “benevolent like his father”.
The idea of Kim being this father figure to the people of North Korea has been an image that he and his parliament have tried to evoke in recent years.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
