North Korean media lashed out at President of the United States Joe Biden on Saturday for accusing his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, of war crimes.
In a commentary titled "The final loser will be the United States" published on Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on Saturday, international studies commentator Kim Myong Chol, reacted to Biden labelling Russian President Vladimir Putin a "war criminal" in an off-the-cuff response to a journalist.
"Calling the head of a sovereign state a 'war criminal' and a 'murderous dictator' for no justifiable and confirmed reason and to assert he must be ousted from power is an insult to the other nation and a clear infringement of sovereignty," Kim Myong Chol wrote.
"Perhaps, the trouble was caused by him reading a script which his aides prepared beforehand, worrying about the president known for his repeated slip of the tongue. If not, the conclusion could be that there is a problem in his intellectual faculty and that his reckless remarks are just a show of imprudence of an old man in his senility," the writer continued.
The government in Pyongyang openly supports the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, one of its rare allies, and accuses Washington of being at the root of the current crisis.
Official Korean media have a history of hitting out at foreign leaders in violent language and have previously called Biden a “rabid dog” while he was still a presidential candidate.
Explanation of comments
Biden's comments in light of the atrocities carried out in Ukraine were seen as a move that could further escalate diplomatic tensions regarding the Russia Ukraine conflict even further. The White House and Biden later rectified what was said.
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"The truth of the matter is— you saw what happened in Bucha. This warrants him — he is a war criminal. But we have to gather the information, we have to continue to provide Ukraine with the weapons they need to continue the fight, and we have to get all the details so [...] we can have a wartime trial," Biden said.
In the commentary, Kim Myong Chol stressed that "such reckless remarks can be made only by the descendants of Yankees, master hand at aggression and plot-breeding," adding that a president should know how much their words weigh and "what effect they will have in the world political arena."
He added that the US and western countries are the "masterminds of aggression who caused violence, war, humanitarian disaster and instability in different parts of the world," adding that it is "illogical and an insult to human rights" that they "style themselves the guardian of civilians."
