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Clinton: DPRK doesn't deserve attention

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-07-21 08:03

WASHINGTON -- What the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has been doing does not deserve international attention it wants to get, US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has said.

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton smiles during a joint news conference with India's Foreign Minister Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna in New Delhi July 20, 2009. [Agencies]

In an interview aired by ABC's "Good Morning America" on Monday, the top US diplomat admitted that the Obama administration has changed its approach toward Pyongyang in just the last month.

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Dismissing international opposition, the DPRK conducted an underground nuclear test on May 25 and since then has fired at least seven ballistic missiles. It also boycotted the six-party talks on its nuclear program.

"We were not going to give the North Korea the satisfaction they were looking for, which is to try to elevate them again to center stage," said Clinton.

The secretary even linked Pyongyang's behavior to that of "small children and unruly teenagers."

"Maybe it is the mother in me or the experience that I've had with small children and unruly teenagers and people who are demanding attention -- don't give it to them. They don't deserve it," she said.

Clinton said she is not sure whether Pyongyang will go ahead with a launch of a long-range missile soon, but downplayed the threat the DPRK poses to the United States.

"They don't pose a threat to us. We know that our allies -- Japan and South Korea -- are very concerned, but we share information. They watch what we watch and understand what's really going on there," she added.