By Jun Ji-hye
A group of North Korean defectors said Wednesday that they have lodged a complaint with White House officials against U.S. President Donald Trump's positive remarks about North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.
During his interview with Bloomberg News, May 1, Trump said he was "absolutely" willing and would be "honored" to meet with the North's young leader, though such a meeting could only take place "under the right circumstances."
Ten North Korean defectors were visiting Washington, and their schedule included a visit to the White House, according to Park Sang-hak, chief of the Fighters for Free North Korea, who was among them.
"We arrived at the White House about four hours after President Trump's interview was published," Park said.
"We lodged a strong complaint with the National Security Council (NSC) officials in charge of affairs on the Korean Peninsula. We told them how Trump said he would be honored to meet with a flagrant, anti-human criminal."
The defectors noted that the NSC officials told them the media interview was exaggerated to some extent.
White House press secretary Sean Spicer earlier said Trump's use of the word "honored" was because "Kim is still a head of state."
"There is a diplomatic piece to this," Spicer said.
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