Seoul, Feb 3 (EFE).- North Korea on Monday condemned statements by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio for calling the Asian country a “rogue state” in a media interview, in what is Pyongyang’s first direct criticism of the new government of Donald Trump.
The North Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement published Monday by state news agency KCNA that it considers Rubio’s “hostile remarks to thoughtlessly tarnish the image of a sovereign state as a grave political provocation.”
“Rubio’s coarse and nonsensical remarks only show directly the incorrect view of the new US istration on the DPRK and will never help promote the US interests as he wishes,” the text adds.
The DPRK is an acronym for North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.
“We will never tolerate any provocation of the US, which has been always hostile to the DPRK and will be hostile to it in the future, too, but will take tough counteraction corresponding to it as usual,” it continued.
The statement, titled: “The most depraved country in the world is not entitled to take issue with other countries,” considers it “absurd and illogical it is that the most depraved state in the world brands another country a rogue state.”
The article is the first direct criticism from the Asian country towards the new istration of President Donald Trump, who recently said that he would try to the North Korean leader, Kim Jong-un, to restart dialogue on nuclear disarmament.
Trump and Kim met on three occasions between 2018 and 2019, but Washington’s rejection of the denuclearization offer made by Pyongyang derailed the negotiations as well as the diplomatic relationship. EFE
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