The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Sunday condemned South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who congratulated the United States for putting pressure on Pyongyang for the recent talks.
The Central News Agency of Korea (KCNA) said in a comment that “bad remarks chilling the atmosphere of reconciliation are heard from South Korea” during the New Year’s press conference held the week before by Mr. Moon.
KCNA criticized Moon for “thanking” US President Donald Trump for helping bring Pyongyang to inter-Korean talks through pressure and maximum sanctions, as well as his call for “denuclearization” of the DPRK as the final goal of the talks.
“It’s obvious that the New Year’s press conference is aimed at flattering his disgruntled master,” KCNA said in an unusually harsh tone to Moon a week after the first two-year high-level inter-Korean talks broke out.
Declaring that both parties “have just begun to light flames for reconciliation,” the commentary accused Mr. Moon of “casting doubt on his intention to improve relations between the north and the south and to strengthen trust”.
The talks resulted in cooperation agreements for the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympic Games, and the two sides also agreed to take steps to ease tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
KCNA also accused South Korea of allowing the United States to deploy another nuclear aircraft carrier, Stennis, in the Western Pacific during the Pyeongchang Olympics, despite its agreement with Washington to postpone joint military exercises for several years.
“We will always make efforts to improve relations between north and south, but we will never remain as a spectator for the sordid acts cooling the efforts,” the comment added.
“They should know that trains and buses to transport our delegation to the Olympics are still in Pyongyang,” the commentary said.