MIAMI, Florida (Yonhap) -- In the heated campaign for presidential nomination of the U.S. Republican Party, North Korea is not a hot topic.
Candidates have thus far focused largely on domestic issues such as job creation and health care, while attacking their rivals over their careers or methods of money making. The North Korean issue has not been raised in frequent television debates, although Iran has been mentioned.
While on the campaign trail here in Miami, Florida, ahead of a crucial primary on Tuesday, front-runner Mitt Romney unusually took direct aim at North Korea's new leader Kim Jong-un, grouping him with Cuban leader Fidel Castro and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.
Romney characterized them as "some of the world's worst actors."
"This is the time when we have a president, I think, who looks around the world from behind us that we should accommodate and appease some of the world's worst actors like Castro, Chavez and ... Kim Jong-un," he told hundreds of crowd in a Miami district that is home to many Cuban Americans.
"The right course for America is to stand with strength against tyranny," he added.
Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), who chairs the House Foreign Affairs Committee, was beside Romney on the stage. The lawmaker, born in Cuba, is known for her hard-line stance against North Korea.
Shortly after the death of North Korea's long-time autocrat Kim Jong-il in December, Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, said Kim was a "ruthless tyrant who lived a life of luxury while the North Korean people starved."
"His death represents an opportunity for America to work with our friends to turn North Korea off the treacherous course it is on and ensure security in the region," he added in a statement.
Romney later also spoke about Kim's third son Jong-un, reported to be in his late 20s, who inherited the North's leadership.
"I hope, with the ascension of Kim Jong-un, that there's some prospect for new openness," Romney said early this month. "I'd love to see a day when we had freedom throughout the entire world. It's be wonderful, wouldn't it, if we could have freedom and (transparency) in all parts of the world including North Korea."
Apparently drumming up support among conservative voters here, Romney also accused President Barack Obama Sunday of seeking to weaken the U.S. military might.
"The president is looking to diminish our military," he said, referring to Obama's defense budget cut plan.
The Obama administration announced a plan to slash at least $450 billion in its defense spending over the next decades. To that end, it plans to reduce the number of service members and scale down weapons development projects.
"That's a wrong course," Romney said, pledging to increase the number of troops and expand military equipment should he become the next U.S. president.
Romney is the current favorite to win the Florida primary over former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.