South Korean media and politicians have eyed North Korea as being behind opposition to the government-designated history textbook, with Seoul’s Ministry of Unification (MoU) urging the North to stop its “interference” on Thursday.

South Korea’s Munhwa Ilbo newspaper on Wednesday quoted an anonymous source “familiar with North Korea” as saying that the North had issued a directive to spur opposition to the new textbook, which South Korea’s Park administration and ruling party claim is necessary to eliminate promotion of North Korean ideology and distortions of South Korean history.