Cheney 'a blood-thirsty beast'

2005-06-02 20:40

Seoul - North Korea branded US vice-president Dick Cheney a "blood-thirsty beast" on Thursday and said his criticism of dictator Kim Jong-Il had set back hopes for a resumption of six-party talks.

"Cheney is hated as the most cruel monster and blood-thirsty beast as he has drenched various parts of the world in blood," a North Korea foreign ministry spokesperson said.

The attack came in response to Cheney's comment on North Korean leader Kim in an interview with CNN's Larry King Live programme aired on Monday.

Cheney called Kim an "irresponsible" leader who does not care for his people and accused him of running a police state.

The vice-president's statement came amid efforts to reconvene six-party talks to end the standoff over North Korea's nuclear weapons programmes.

Last month US officials met North Korean diplomats at the United Nations in New York, triggering optimism that talks were in the pipeline one year after the third round was held in Beijing.

"What Cheney uttered at a time when the issue of the six-party talks is high on the agenda is little short of telling the DPRK (North Korea) not to come out for the talks," the spokesperson was quoted as saying by the official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) monitored in Seoul.

North Korea has boycotted China-hosted nuclear disarmament talks - which also include the United States, South Korea, Japan and Russia - since June last year.

- AFP