The remarks were made by a senior North Korean Government official who further said that his country would not ‘’beg’’ the United States for a dialogue.
A senior member of the North Korean Government has ridiculed remarks of US Vice-President Mike Pence by calling them ‘’stupid’’. These remarks have come in the wake of tensions which have grown between North Korea and the United States over the past few weeks.
During an interview which he gave to Fox News a few days ago, Mike Pence had warned North Korea of a fate similar to that of Libya should it decides against nuclearisation. He had also warned North Korea that it would be committing a ‘’mistake’’ if the North Koreans think they can ‘’play’’ President Trump.
Even by North Korean standards, the response to Mr. Pence’s comments was belligerent as Choe Son Hui, North Korea’s vice-minister of foreign affairs, responded by raising questions about the utility of the summit if Washington’s position was reflected by Mr. Pence’s remarks.
“Whether the US will meet us at a meeting room or encounter us at nuclear-to-nuclear showdown is entirely dependent upon the decision and behavior of the United States,” she said in a statement to KCNA state news agency.
“We will neither beg the US for dialogue nor take the trouble to persuade them if they do not want to sit together with us.”
She further said: ‘’ “In view of the remarks of the US high-ranking politicians who have not yet woken up to this stark reality and compare the DPRK to Libya that met a tragic fate, I come to think that they know too little about us. To borrow their words, we can also make the US taste an appalling tragedy it has neither experienced nor even imagined up to now.’’
While Mike Pence is currently in the line of fire of the North Koreans, he is not the first US Leader who had drawn comparisons between North Korea and Libya. John Bolton, the security adviser of President Trump, has also urged the North Koreans to follow the ‘’Libyan model’’ of nuclear disarmament.
The proposed summit between President Trump and Kim Jong-un is scheduled to take place on 12th June in Singapore.
