North Korea deletes anti-South articles following military suspension

June 24 (UPI) -- North Korean media articles denouncing the leaflet activism of defectors in the South have been removed from the websites of major propaganda services following an order from Kim Jong Un to suspend military action against the South.

A total of 13 articles criticizing activists and the South Korean government, published on DPRK Today and Meari online early Wednesday, were removed only hours after publication, Yonhap reported.

Among the articles that were deleted on DPRK Today was a sharply worded verbal attack of the South Korean government that warned the South had been "cut sharply" by the North's actions. The article, which quoted the former South Korean unification minister, was one of six articles that were removed from DPRK Today.

Meari, a propaganda service that has advocated for unification on North Korea's terms, also removed articles that blamed South Korea for the decline in inter-Korea relations.

On Wednesday, Seoul's unification ministry confirmed the articles were deleted. Korean Workers' Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun and Minju Choson, a state-run paper, also did not include any anti-South articles or commentary.

Days before Kim suspended military action, North Korea had said it was preparing to deliver 12 million leaflets in more than 3,000 balloons to the South, as retaliation for the distribution of anti-Pyongyang propaganda by activists in the South.

The two Koreas agreed in 2018 to end leaflet distribution across the border at Panmunjom, the truce village at the border where an armistice ending the 1950-53 Korean War was signed.

Ahead of the 70th anniversary of the war, Seoul's military sent letters of gratitude to the head of the militaries of the 22 countries that fought or provided medical assistance under the U.S.-led United Nations Command, South Korean news service Newsis reported Wednesday.

South Korean Defense Minister Jeong Kyeong-doo said the veterans of each nation "sacrificed to protect the liberal democracy and peace" of South Korea.

Jeong also said South Korea, a "divided country," is still on a journey to denuclearize North Korea, according to Newsis.