Seoul: North Korea accused UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of “double standards” on Sunday, saying he urged Pyongyang to exercise restraint following its destruction of inter-Korean roads while remaining silent about South Korea’s alleged drone infiltration into the North.
Kim Son-gyong, North Korea’s vice foreign minister for international organisations, issued a statement after Guterres called for efforts to ease tensions and resume dialogue after the North blew up roads and rail lines on its side of the heavily fortified border on Tuesday.
“I express deep displeasure over and categorically reject the remarks of interfering in the internal affairs” of North Korea, Kim said in the statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency.
Kim claimed the destruction of roads and rail lines within its territory falls under North Korea’s “sovereign right from A to Z” and should not be subject to interference from the UN secretary-general, Yonhap news agency reported quoting KCNA.
The official urged Guterres to denounce what he termed the South Korean military’s “wanton infringement” upon North Korea’s sovereignty, reiterating claims that the South has sent drones into North Korean airspace.
Pyongyang has accused Seoul of sending drones carrying anti-North Korean propaganda leaflets over the capital earlier this month. South Korea has neither confirmed nor denied that its military was responsible for sending drones across the border.
Kim said the UN chief’s “prejudiced” remark could give “a green light” to the US and the South Korean attempts to “ignite a war” against the North, warning he could bear responsibility for escalating tensions on the Korean Peninsula.
On Saturday, North Korea claimed it had discovered remains of at least one drone sent from South Korea, describing it as the same type displayed on the South’s Armed Forces Day in Seoul earlier this month.
A North Korean defence ministry spokesperson warned of an “immediate retaliatory attack” should another violation of the North’s territory by the South’s military be confirmed.
–IANS
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