The article was originally published by the DongA Ilbo and translated by an OKN correspondent.
Tak Hyun-min, the protocol secretary to former president Moon Jae-in, revealed that he provided the idea of holding a late-night military parade in a meeting four years ago with North Korea’s Hyun Song-wol, then head of the Samjiyon Orchestra. In response, a conservative civic group in South Korea filed a lawsuit against Tak for violating the National Security Act.
On May 12, the civic group Liberty Korea Defense Association visited the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Jongno-gu, central Seoul, and filed a complaint claiming that Tak’s remarks on the North Korean military parade constituted a violation of the National Security Act and a South Korean criminal law that punishes someone benefiting the enemy.
“The basic purpose of the military parade is to raise their morale by showing off their military power and to threaten their enemies,” said the civic group. “Thus, this can mean that Tak’s action can be interpreted as benefiting North Korea, the enemy of the Republic of Korea.”
In an interview with the Kyunghyan Shinmun newspaper released the previous day, Tak mentioned the successful test-launch video of the new intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Hwaseong-17, which was broadcasted by North Korea’s state-run Central TV, and said “Kim Jong-un produced something like a music video and I think I might have given them some influence.”
“I talked a lot about directing with Hyun Song-wol in 2018,” he said. “Hyun was not an expert in directing, but she had the authority to make decisions. When we last met, I told her to have a military parade at night.”
Regarding the reason for suggesting a late-night military parade, Tak said, “You can use the lights only at night, so that a dramatic effect is created.” He added that “you can only show what you want to show with lights and make the parts you don’t want to show, dark.”
Tak continued, “That’s why night events are more touching than day events.” He added that “Since then, North Korea has continued to hold military parades at night. North Korea’s directing skill is gradually becoming more sophisticated.”
North Korea held most military parades in the morning but starting with the 75th anniversary of the founding of the Workers’ Party in October 2020, their military ceremonies were held at night. Because North Korea’s military parades are at night, the intelligence authorities of South Korea and the United States have more difficulty analyzing the specifications of the weapons that appeared in the military parade.
