By Lee Min-hyung
North Korea appears to have criticized President Moon Jae-in for his recent speech in Sweden, saying that an "official" tried to blame the North for the nuclear impasse on the Korean Peninsula.
"A South Korean official misled the public during his recent trip to Northern Europe by talking as though the North is to blame for the ongoing deadlock in relations between Pyongyang and Washington," the North's propaganda website Uriminzokkiri said Thursday.
The official is assumed to be President Moon in consideration of his recent trip to Finland, Sweden and Norway.
The North's denouncement is likely to be aimed at Moon's speech at the Swedish parliament on June 14 when he urged the North to show its strong willingness to build a peace system on the peninsula by completely dismantling its nuclear facilities.
The propaganda outlet went on to argue the key reason behind the ongoing nuclear stalemate here is due to Washington's "unwavering hostility" toward the North.
Pyongyang also stepped up criticism of the South for walking too much on eggshells around the U.S., saying that Seoul should stop being indecisive in handling nuclear issues on the peninsula.
"The latest remark by the South Korean official is nothing more than a lame excuse for Seoul's failure to take an active part in fulfilling inter-Korean agreements due to Washington's pressure," it added.
Despite a series of such rhetoric from the North, President Moon is calling for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to hold another inter-Korean summit.
President Moon has for more than a year played as a mediator between U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim for the talks on denuclearization of the peninsula.
On his recent trip to the European countries, he sent an official message to Kim requesting to hold the fourth inter-Korean summit sometime before Moon's planned meeting with Trump this weekend. The North did not respond.
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| North Korean leader Kim Jong-un |
"A South Korean official misled the public during his recent trip to Northern Europe by talking as though the North is to blame for the ongoing deadlock in relations between Pyongyang and Washington," the North's propaganda website Uriminzokkiri said Thursday.
The official is assumed to be President Moon in consideration of his recent trip to Finland, Sweden and Norway.
The North's denouncement is likely to be aimed at Moon's speech at the Swedish parliament on June 14 when he urged the North to show its strong willingness to build a peace system on the peninsula by completely dismantling its nuclear facilities.
The propaganda outlet went on to argue the key reason behind the ongoing nuclear stalemate here is due to Washington's "unwavering hostility" toward the North.
Pyongyang also stepped up criticism of the South for walking too much on eggshells around the U.S., saying that Seoul should stop being indecisive in handling nuclear issues on the peninsula.
"The latest remark by the South Korean official is nothing more than a lame excuse for Seoul's failure to take an active part in fulfilling inter-Korean agreements due to Washington's pressure," it added.
Despite a series of such rhetoric from the North, President Moon is calling for North Korean leader Kim Jong-un to hold another inter-Korean summit.
President Moon has for more than a year played as a mediator between U.S. President Donald Trump and Kim for the talks on denuclearization of the peninsula.
On his recent trip to the European countries, he sent an official message to Kim requesting to hold the fourth inter-Korean summit sometime before Moon's planned meeting with Trump this weekend. The North did not respond.
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