Online speech and parodies critical of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is to be curtailed, a Hong Kong-based newspaper reported Friday. File photo by Rodong Sinmun

SEOUL, Aug. 5 (UPI) -- China is planning to step up control of anti-Kim Jong Un statements online.

A new policy to curb anti-North Korea speech that ridicules Pyongyang's leader is to be enforced, Hong Kong-based newspaper Ming Pao reported Friday.


A source told the paper the Chinese agency responsible for ideology has been denouncing online users who ridicule North Korea and North Korea's leader through parodies.

The government is now stepping up the monitoring of their activities, the source said.

China has been critical of a South Korea decision to deploy a U.S. anti-missile defense system, and the latest policy may be a sign Beijing is returning to a renewed commitment to North Korea, according to South Korea press.

Ming Pao also reported several sources confirm the Chinese government is enforcing new regulations restricting the television appearances of South Korean celebrities.

Meanwhile, Beijing has yet to issue a statement criticizing Pyongyang's decision to fire two ballistic missiles on Wednesday, when one of the missiles landed in Japan's exclusive economic zone.

Concern is also growing over other Chinese retaliation in response to THAAD deployment, particularly among members of South Korea's business community that engage in heavy trade with China.

Many South Korean enterprises retain Chinese production bases, and one China-based South Korean representative of a major corporation said Chinese state television station CCTV is reporting heavily on the impending deployment of THAAD.