Pyongyang [North Korea], February 3: North Korea on February 3 condemned US Secretary of State Marco Rubio's calling North Korea a 'rogue state'.
According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on February 3, Pyongyang said that Mr. Rubio's statements had tarnished the image of a sovereign nation and considered this a serious political provocation. In a recent interview, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio mentioned North Korea and Iran as "rogue states" that the US needs to deal with when formulating foreign policy .
A North Korean foreign ministry spokesman said Rubio's remarks reaffirmed that the US' hostile policy toward the DPRK remains unchanged. "We will never tolerate any provocation by the US, which is hostile to the DPRK. Pyongyang will take stern but routine countermeasures," the spokesman said.
"Rogue state " is a term used by one country when it considers another country to be a threat to world peace. According to the Oxford dictionary, this term was used under former US President Bill Clinton to refer to countries that Washington considered to be going against international norms, determined to possess weapons of mass destruction and sponsor terrorism.
This is the first time North Korea has publicly criticized the second-term administration of US President Donald Trump.
According to Yonhap, Mr. Trump has expressed his desire to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. Observers consider this a signal of the possibility of a summit between Mr. Trump and Mr. Kim Jong-un. The two leaders have met three times during Mr. Trump's first term. North Korea has yet to respond to this information.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper
