Korean president slams pro-North groups

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SEOUL, May 28 (UPI) -- The South Korean president, in a radio address Monday, urged pro-North Korea groups in South Korea to stop believing the North's propaganda.

It was the first time President Lee Myung-bak, who typically avoids ideological remarks, has openly criticized countrymen sympathetic to North Korea, the South Korean Yonhap News Agency said Monday.

He used the term "jongbuk," meaning "blindly following the North," in his speech.

"Just as the international community is demanding the North change, those people who unconditionally support North Korea must change," he said.

Criticism of pro-North Korean groups has risen sharply in South Korea after recently elected lawmakers of the leftist United Progressive Party have displayed a reluctance to criticize the reclusive Communist North Korean regime, the news agency said.