DPRK state media on Friday warned the unresolved restaurant worker defector controversy could serve as a “barrier” to upcoming reunions of families separation by the Korean War, while also denouncing South Korean President Moon Jae-in for making “presumptuous remarks" on North Korean issues.

In an editorial, the Uriminzokkiri - an outer-track outlet not typically accessible to a domestic audience - reiterated Pyongyang's view that the purported mass defection of 12 restaurant workers in 2016 was a “plot” devised by the ROK government with the “impure purpose” of winning a then-upcoming legislative election.