North Korea has issued a warning to the U.S. after the Biden administration announced the completion of a months-long review of its approach to Pyongyang going forward.
In one statement, a Foreign Ministry spokesman accused Washington of insulting the dignity of the country’s supreme leadership by criticizing North Korea’s human rights situation.
The unnamed spokesman said the human rights criticism is a provocation that shows the United States is “girding itself up for an all-out showdown” with North Korea, and will be answered accordingly
In a separate statement, Kwon Jong Gun, director general of the Department of U.S. Affairs of the Foreign Ministry, cited Biden’s first policy speech to Congress on Wednesday, where the new president said nuclear programs in North Korea and Iran posed threats that would be addressed through “diplomacy and stern deterrence.”
Kwon said it is illogical and an encroachment upon North Korea’s right to self-defence for the United States to call its defensive deterrence a threat, adding that U.S. talk of diplomacy is aimed at covering up its hostile acts.
He concluded now that Biden’s policy has become clear, North Korea “will be compelled to press for corresponding measures, and with time the U.S. will find itself in a very grave situation.
White House spokeswoman, Jen Psaki earlier Friday said that Biden’s team consulted with officials from previous administrations to try and determine its best foot forward.
She said it is the Biden administration’s goal “remains the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.”
