A NORTH Korean defector who fled Kim Jong-un's brutal regime has hit out at Keir Starmer for proudly describing himself as a "socialist".
The Labour leader came out with the comment earlier this week before describing himself as a "progressive" leader as he set out his vision for the country he hopes to soon govern.
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But Jihyun Park, who fled from North Korea to the UK in 2008, was quick to voice concerns as someone who has already been forced to live under a socialist dictatorship.
She told The Sun: “In North Korea, socialism is associated with the authoritarian regime of the Kim dynasty, which enforces strict state control over all aspects of life and suppresses dissent.
“To someone from North Korea, this form of socialism is synonymous with oppression, poverty, and lack of personal freedoms.
“When Keir Starmer, who leads a democratic party in a free society, calls himself a socialist, it can seem contradictory and misleading.”
Starmer made the divisive comments in an interview with the BBC on Monday.
He said: "I would describe myself as a socialist. I describe myself as a progressive.
"I'd describe myself as somebody who always puts the country first and party second."
The leftists are easily swayed by propaganda and lose sight of their roots, making them unstable
North Korea also describes itself as an "independent socialist state" in its constitution.
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Although experts and critics have constantly posed the question of just how socialist the country is.
It is well known for having one of the world’s worst human rights records under the dictatorship of the Kim family - currently led by tyrant Kim Jong-un.
Starmer first ran for top job at Labour back in 2020 on a more explicitly left wing platform.
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Despite many now saying he has moved much closer to the centre ground.
Ms Park was quick to make clear her views on the differences between the socialism of the Labour Party and what it represents in North Korea.
She said: “The NHS is a social public service, not a socialist ideology.
“Many British people mistakenly associate it with socialism because the Labour Party established it, but this service was not founded based on ideology.”
The tricky life of Jihyun Park
JIHYUN Park’s journey to the West and freedom from North Korea took many years of struggle.
She was born and raised in North Korea in 1968, but it would not be until she was in her 40s that she reached Britain’s shores.
Ms Park worked as a teacher before her escape attempts, the first of which came in the late 1990s after the country was ravaged by mass famine.
However, after striking a deal with traffickers to escape north to China, she was soon sold into modern slavery - during which time she gave birth to her son.
She would end up being repatriated to a North Korean prison camp five years later.
Her brother, with whom she made the initial escape attempt, was sent back immediately - and she still does not know what happened to him.
After nearly dying from a leg injury in one of the prison camps, she would make her second escape attempt in 2004.
This time she was able to flee successfully to be reunited with her son in China, and eventually found help in Beijing to move to the UK.
Upon arrival, she initially struggled with the language barrier, but she is now a British citizen and would become for first person of North Korean origin to stand for election in the UK.
Ms Park, who now lives in Bury, told the Sun she believes in "personal responsibility, family values and capitalism".
Now in her 50s, she unsuccessfully stood to be a Conservative councillor for Bury Metropolitan Borough Council in 2021.
She said: “Since coming to the UK, I have witnessed significant changes.
"The political landscape has evolved, with major events like Brexit reshaping the nation's identity and policies.
“The reason the conservatives can fight steadfastly without collapsing is that they have a cane to support themselves, whereas the leftists are easily swayed by propaganda and lose sight of their roots, making them unstable.”
North Korea has often hit international news due to its nuclear weapons programme and rocket testing.
Then US President Donald Trump exchanged fiery rhetoric with Kim Jong-un in 2017, but eventually, the two would shake hands in a historic meeting the next year.
But Ms Park was sceptical of the value of Trump’s meetings with Kim.
She said: “I liked Trump when he was started first team because he fought Chinese Community Party and also dictator North Korea.
“But when he met Kim Jong-un twice so I knew that he never worked with people that’s all kind of show.”
NORTH KOREA'S REGIME
The 25 million people in North Korea are thought to live under a form of communist rule where their daily lives are strictly controlled by their government.
People have to ask permission to travel and hardly anyone is allowed to enter the country with thorough checks and state permission.
One of the trickiest areas of daily lives however is how the civilians get their news and media.
All TVs and radios are only tuned into state channels or those sponsored by Kim.
North Korea is also known for spreading propaganda within their country in order to keep everyone aligned with their leader's views.
Anyone caught listen or watching material outside of what the dictator has deemed "worthy" can face very strict punishments.
Earlier this year, the hellish regime was exposed astwo teenage students were sent to the gulagfor watching banned TV.
They face 12-years behind bars with hard labour for watching K-drama after being handcuffed and publicly embarrassed in a stadium full of students.
Reports suggest the clip, which was filmed, has been used acrossNorth Koreato educate younger citizens and scare them into not watching "decadent recordings".
Kim also released a bizarre new propaganda-laced pop song earlier this month - with a sinister hidden message, experts warned.
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Titled Friendly Father, the song heaps compliments on the North Koreandictator- calling him "warm-hearted like your mother" and "benevolent like your father".
The idea of Kim being this father figure to the people of North Korea has been an image he and hisparliamenthave tried to conjure up in recent years.
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