hankyoreh

6-day trip to the United States

By Kang Tae-ho, senior staff writer

On May 10, North Korea made its first response to the summit meeting between South Korean President Park Geun-hye and US President Barack Obama, sharply criticizing it using expressions such as “a prelude to war,” “instigating a confrontation with her own people,” and “a disgusting kiss.” Pyongyang also rejected the “right choice” that Park has urged the North to make, saying that it is South Korea that must make the right choice.

During an interview with a reporter from the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), the spokesperson for the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of the Fatherland (CPRF) said, “The outcome of the South Korean leader’s visit to the US is a perilous prelude to war that increases the risk of war and ratchets up tensions on the Korean peninsula and in the region.”

The spokesperson also responded to Park’s explanation of the trust-building process on the Korean peninsula to Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the UN. Park had said, “This means that we will not tolerate North Korea’s nuclear weapons, we will not reward North Korea for such threats and provocations, and that we will make North Korea pay the price for its provocations.” The spokesperson criticized this policy as being no different from the so-called “Denuclearization, Liberalization, 3000” policy espoused by former South Korean President Lee Myung-bak.

The spokesperson also criticized the position expressed by Park at the summit meeting as “pro-American groveling that parrots the same hard-lined position.”

“The US master made clear his wishes to use South Korea as its shock troops in their strategy of aggression against North Korea and Asia,” the spokesperson said. “The South Korean leader revealed that her true nature is one of confrontation as she humored the whims of her master.”

Though the interview was full of criticism, the spokesperson made no mention of a specific North Korean response. “At present, we are patiently and carefully watching the South Korean government,” the spokesperson said, suggesting that the North Koreans will be waiting to see what the South Korean government chooses to do next.

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