North Korea condemns Cheney remarks
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-06-02 15:42

North Korea said Thursday that recent remarks by US Vice President Dick Cheney about Kim Jong Il, labeling him an "irresponsible" leader, are another reason for it to stay away from six-nation nuclear disarmament talks.

"What Cheney uttered at a time when the issue of the six-party talks is high on the agenda is little short of telling (North Korea) not to come out for the talks," an unnamed North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.

Nearly a year since the last session of the six-nation talks, North Korea has refused to return to the table, citing a "hostile" U.S. policy. It has also called for an apology for being labeled one of the world's "outposts of tyranny" by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

In a Sunday interview on CNN, Cheney called North Korean leader Kim "one of the world's most irresponsible leaders".

US President Bush himself has sounded a more conciliatory tone recently, referring to Kim this week at a news conference using the title "Mr."

Rice has also said the U.S. recognizes North Korea as a sovereign nation, and U.S. officials insist they have no intention to attack the country.

But North Korea said Thursday that the remarks by Cheney, "boss of the hawkish hard-liners, revealed the true colors of this group steering the implementation of the policy of the Bush administration."

North Korea also leveled a bitter personal attack on the Cheney, saying he was "hated as the most cruel monster and bloodthirsty beast as he has drenched various parts of the world in blood."

Despite the tough talk, North Korea also said it maintains its commitment to denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula and to seeking a peaceful solution to the current standoff.

"But if the U.S. persists in its wrong behavior, misjudging our magnanimity and patience as a sign of weakness, this will entail more serious consequences," the spokesman said without any elaboration.

Earlier this week, Pyongyang's state media also lashed out at Rice, implying she was in control of the White House.

"It's a sad house where the hen crows louder than the rooster," state Radio Pyongyang said in a broadcast monitored by South Korea's Unification Ministry.

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