Pyongyang rejects S.Korean president's remarks on nukes, human rights

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Thursday rejected remarks by South Korean President Park Geun-hye on its nuclear program and human rights record.

"This is another intolerable grave provocation against the DPRK and a mockery of its people," the official KCNA news agency quoted an unnamed spokesman for the Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea as saying.

Park has said in a recent keynote speech in Seoul that the "North's nuclear development is the biggest factor of instability in Northeast Asia and poses a serious threat to world peace." She urged the DPRK to abandon the nuclear program and development of ballistic missiles at a meeting with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban in November.

The spokesman refuted Park's remarks, saying that nuclear weapons are "a shield of justice and a powerful treasured sword" for defending the country from war moves by U.S. and South Korean forces.

The spokesman also criticized Park's expression of serious concern about the human rights record in the DPRK on Human Rights Day on Dec. 10.

Park should first censure the United States, which is the "worst human rights abuser for its barbarous killings of innocent black people" and for "tortures in various parts of its land," the spokesman said.

The spokesman warned Park to "control her tongue" if she truly hopes to improve the north-south relations. Enditem