May 3 (UPI) -- North Korean state media claimed censorship in the South was preventing the publication of Kim Il Sung's memoir after special interest groups said sales of the book violate a local law.
Propaganda outlet Uriminzokkiri on Monday condemned the opposition to the memoir, with is published in eight volumes.
"The memoir of the Great Leader have been published in South Korea, making waves," North Korean state media said. "Unusual things are happening that transcend common sense."
The statement on Uriminzokkiri comes after a conservative nonprofit in the South, New Paradigm of Korea, filed a petition for a preliminary injunction against the sale and distribution of all eight volumes of With the Century.
Do Tae-woo, the group's attorney, said the book is the bible of totalitarianism in North Korea.
North Korean media said Monday South Korea's "legal circles" and "conservative media" were engaged in a "hysterical confrontation," while claiming the publication violates Seoul's National Security Law.
"Preventing the publication is the foolish opposition of [South Korean] reactionaries, who are trying to hide the sunlight with their fascist and blind behavior."
State media also referred to Kim's memoir as an "encyclopedia." The suspension of book sales "reveals the disgrace" of the South Korean people, Uriminzokkiri said, referring to decisions by major South Korean retailers to stop selling the book.
State media issued other condemnations.
North Korean propaganda service Meari published a comment from Ri Myong Jong, identified as a Korean-Chinese sociologist. Ri said the South is a liberal democracy with "no publishing freedoms."
The controversy "raises questions about how much freedom and democracy there is in South Korea," Ri said in Meari.
South Korean newspaper Dong-A Ilbo reported Monday some retailers have stopped promoting the book and made it unsearchable in its online catalog. With the Century is available to read for free on the Internet.