SEOUL, South Korea -North Korea called Vice President Dick Cheney a bloodthirsty beast and said yesterday his recent remarks labeling ruler Kim Jong Il irresponsible are another reason for it to stay away from six-nation nuclear disarmament talks.
What Cheney uttered at a time when the issue of the six-party talks is high on the agenda is little short of telling (North Korea) not to come out for the talks
an unnamed North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman said, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency.
Nearly a year since the last session of the six-nation talks, North Korea has refused to return to the table, citing a hostile U.S. policy. Recently, it has also called for an apology for being labeled one of the world's outposts of tyranny by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
In a Sunday interview on CNN, Cheney called the North Korean leader one of the world's most irresponsible leaders who runs a police state and leaves his people in poverty and malnutrition.
White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan described the communist country's comments as more of the same kind of bluster we hear from North Korea from time to time. When they make provocative statements they only further isolate themselves.
President Bush himself has sounded a more conciliatory tone recently, referring to Kim this week at a news conference using the title Mr.
Rice also has said the United States recognizes the North as a sovereign nation, and U.S. officials insist they have no intention to attack the communist state.
North Korea said yesterday that the remarks by Cheney, boss of the hawkish hard-liners revealed the true colors of this group steering the implementation of the policy of the Bush administration.
The North also leveled a bitter personal attack on Cheney, saying he was hated as the most cruel monster and bloodthirsty beast as he has drenched various parts of the world in blood.
Despite the tough talk, the North said it maintains its commitment to ending the nuclear standoff on the Korean Peninsula and seeking a peaceful solution to the current standoff.
But if the U.S. persists in its wrong behavior
misjudging our magnanimity and patience as a sign of weakness
this will entail more serious consequences
the spokesman said, without any elaboration.
Earlier this week, Pyongyang's state media also lashed out at Rice in harsh personal terms, implying she was in control of the White House.
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