Amid an ongoing dispute between North and South Korea over anti-Pyongyang leaflet campaigns, a North Korea official has threatened interference in the 2020 US presidential election if the United States continues to insert itself in the internal affairs of North Korea.
North Korea has stepped up its hostile rhetoric against South Korea over the continuation of anti-North Korean leaflets and other items being flown across the border tethered to balloons. The Rodong Sinmun, a media outlet connected with North Korea’s ruling Workers’ Party, referred to the leaflet campaigns as a “declaration of war.” North Korea has threatened to cut all ties with its southern neighbors over the dispute despite efforts by Seoul to ban the leaflet campaigns.
Threats against the United States came after the US State Department expressed disappointment over Pyongyang's decision to cut off all communication lines between the two Koreas. In a statement on June 11, 2020, Director-General of the North Korean Foreign Ministry's American Affairs Department, Kwon Jong-gun, said "The U.S. had better hold its tongue and mind its internal affairs first if it doesn't want to experience a hair-raiser. It would be good not only for the U.S. interests but also for the easy holding of its upcoming presidential election." Director-General Kwon has not clarified what was meant by the term “hair-raiser.”
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