NK urges Seoul to dismiss `flunkyism`

Pyongyang Radio called on South Korea Tuesday to stop acting as a ``flunky`` for the United States and arm itself with a sense of nationalism in the course of implementing the June 15 South-North Joint Declaration. The radio announcement came shortly before Pyongyang`s notification to Seoul of its unilateral decision to postpone scheduled inter-Korean ministerial talks. In a report titled ``The Korean People are the Prime Movers Behind the Joint Declaration for National Unification,`` the North Korean mouthpiece stressed that the entire nation should reject ``toadyism`` and dependence on external forces and focus on uniting the Korean people. Breaking with tradition, the broadcaster even went to far as to refer to South Koreans as ``compatriots.``

Meanwhile, commenting on President Kim Dae-Jung`s recent summit with U.S. President George W. Bush, the (North) Korean Democratic People`s Front Radio, an ``underground`` propaganda radio network, blasted the South Korean government for lacking independence and being ``thoroughly subservient`` to Washington.

Ha Tae-Won scooop@donga.com