PYONGYANG, NORTH KOREA (Talon News) — North Korea has launched a vigorous war of words against the United States and Japan while seeking to foster closer ties with Russia and China, in an apparent bid to damage unity among the powers in advance of September’s talks.
In doing so, North Korea once again reserved its harshest words for U.S. Undersecretary of State Bolton, who initially provoked the nation’s wrath when he called life in North Korea a “hellish nightmare” and called Kim Jong-il a “tyrannical dictator.” The White House has since defended Bolton, voicing its overall agreement with his statements.
“[Bolton’s] remarks make us doubt whether he is a man with the elementary faculty of thinking and face of a man or not,” a statement from North Korea read in part. “He is, indeed, one like an animal running about recklessly, devoid of reason, and an ugly fellow who cannot be regarded as a human being.”
“What is more surprising is that such a guy who is incapable of judging and thinking and cannot recognize the counterpart or tell one thing from another serves as an official and diplomat of the U.S. administration,” the statement continued. “If such a fascist who makes it his business to make a malignant personal attack even on other’s top leader, without reason and captive to habitual negation, represents the U.S. policy, not only this policy but also the administration itself will meet a wretched end. [sic]”
North Korea has also attacked Japan, which it accuses of plotting to use America’s supposedly bellicose position toward North Korea as a cover for its own invasion attempt. North Korea takes a vituperative stance toward Japan so often that its position has almost become a cliche. Korean solidarity against Japan is one of the ideological bases for Kim Jong-il’s “revolution.”
“Tokyo is working harder than any others to put into practice the U.S. plan to isolate and stifle the DPRK including the issues of referring the DPRK-U.S. nuclear issue to the UN and throwing a network of blockade against it,” North Korea has claimed. “Japan hopes to see the nuclear stand-off between the DPRK and the U.S. leading to a war. It seeks to hurl [Japan’s] ‘Self-Defense Forces’ into the Korean peninsula to join the U.S. troops in case a new war breaks out there.”
North Korea continues to reach out to China and Russia, and has taken much more moderate stances toward both powers.
North Korea’s Workers’ Party’s Central Committee recently welcomed Wei Mingxiang of the All-China Journalists’ Association to Pyongyang. Mingxiang pledged to improve China-North Korea relations, and congratulated North Korea on the success of its “revolution” and the nation’s 55 year anniversary.
Meanwhile, North Korea has sent its own envoy to Russia, led by Vice-Minister Kung Sok Ung of the nation’s foreign ministry.
South Korean Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Jae-sup is also in Moscow in consultations with the Russian foreign ministry. Russia has engaged all five other participating parties in talks, and may send additional envoys to discuss matters on foreign soil.
The United States is currently finalizing plans for the talks, and has no plans to offer additional concessions to North Korea. The United States has offered the nation assurances that it does not currently plan to invade North Korea and has said it will seek similar assurances from other regional powers, but does not wish to put those words on paper.
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