North Korea warns U.S. could 'pay dearly' for human rights criticism

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

WORLD NEWS DECEMBER 20, 2019 / 9:33 PM / UPDATED 7 HOURS AGO

North Korea warns U.S. could 'pay dearly' for human rights criticism

Joyce Lee
2 MIN READ

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea lashed back at the United States for taking issue with its human rights record on Saturday, saying Washington’s “malicious words” would only aggravate tensions on the Korean Peninsula, state news agency KCNA reported.

The KCNA statement, attributed to a foreign ministry spokesperson, warned that if the United States dared to take issue with the North’s system of government by citing human rights problems, it would “pay dearly”.

The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday condemned North Korea’s “long-standing and ongoing” violations of human rights in an annual resolution sponsored by dozens of countries including the United States, that Pyongyang’s U.N. envoy rejected.

The North Korean Foreign Ministry statement is its first since U.S. special envoy for North Korea, Stephen Biegun, publicly urged Pyongyang on Monday to return to talks. There has been no direct response from North Korea to Biegun’s entreaty.

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Read more: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-northkorea-usa-rights/north-korea-warns-u-s-could-pay-dearly-for-human-rights-criticism-idUSKBN1YP01Y

[kacekwl]

1. Barring trump, if the United States

practiced what they preach their words would hold more credibility.

[keithbvadu2]

2. Lovers' quarrel with Trump?

[soryang]

3. Thae Yong-ho, the former North Korean diplomat, has said human rights demands are code...

...for rejection of negotiations with North Korea. The defector Thae is solidly on the right wing opposition side in terms of South Korean domestic politics but even he doesn't try to obscure the obvious.

It's interesting that the news in the OP is contemporaneous with Chinese and Russian proposals at the Security Council that sanctions against North Korea be eased in the interest of humanitarian interests and creating an environment conducive to negotiations. Neither the US moves for stricter sanctions nor the Chinese-Russian proposal will pass at the Security Council where both sides have veto powers. Behind the scenes, South Korea supports the Chinese-Russian position.