'N Korea like unruly child'

2009-07-20 16:40

Washington - US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said North Korea should not receive the attention it is seeking through behaviour like missile launches and likened Pyongyang's behaviour to that of an unruly child.

North Korea tested a nuclear device in May and fired seven ballistic missiles earlier this month in defiance of a UN resolution.

"What we've seen is this constant demand for attention," Clinton, who is in India, said in an interview that aired on ABC's Good Morning America on Monday.

"And maybe it's the mother in me or the experience that I've had with small children and unruly teenagers and people who are demanding attention - don't give it to them, they don't deserve it, they are acting out," she said.

Clinton also downplayed the threat that North Korea poses to the United States, saying: "They don't pose a threat to us. We know that our allies, Japan and South Korea, are very concerned."

She said her comment earlier this month that "everyone is very sorry" about an incident that resulted in North Korea detaining two US journalists was a recognition of what the two women themselves have said.

"Our most important goal now is to make sure that these young women get home safely and get returned to their families," Clinton said.

Laura Ling and Euna Lee of the US media group Current TV were arrested in March near the China-North Korea border, convicted of "great crimes," and sentenced to 12 years hard labour.

- Reuters