Radio Free Asia this week published a picture of a North Korean poster depicting a sailor punching a warship that reads: "We will smash you with a single blow if you attack!" It was smuggled out by a Chinese businessman.

In March, the South Korean corvette Cheonan was mysteriously sunk in disputed waters off the west coast of the Korean peninsula. It was split in half by a torpedo, killing 46 sailors, and a South Korean led investigation cited evidence of a North Korean attack—a claim the North angrily denies. The Times, citing various South Korean news sources, says a North Korean submarine crew was awarded medals recently and officials have secretly boasted of the attack at propaganda lectures.

A South Korean military expert told Radio Free Asia that the ship in the poster "is not a destroyer or another type of ship, but a corvette, just like the Cheonan." The poster could be an old design resurrected specifically for the occasion. A nice collection of North Korean propaganda posters can be seen at the California Literary Review. Later this year, the US and South Korea are planning to hold joint naval exercises in an attempt to deter the North from further attacks like that on the Cheonan.

[Image via Radio Free Asia]