North Korea’s ambassador to Britain Hyon Hak-bong defended his country’s position in a recent speech, insisting it was merely responding to provocations from the U.S. and South Korea.

“These days the Western media, including the U.K.’s Reuters, the BBC, the Telegraph, the Guardian, all newspapers and mass media are talking about tension on the Korean Peninsula,” Hyon said in a speech made to the Communist Party of Britain. "But the problem here is that they are describing it as if DPRK (North Korea) is the provocateur.

“That is not true. We are being provoked by the United Sates and South Korea. And we are only responding to that provocation and to their military threat,” Hyon said.

While defending his country’s third nuclear test in February, Hyon said the North’s nuclear program was aimed to defend the country and was therefore justified. He finished the address by saying Pyongyang is arming itself with nuclear weapons in order to “defend its sovereignty and territory.”

The 11-minute address was posted earlier this week on a YouTube channel carrying Pyongyang propaganda.

North Korea has been stepping up its bellicose rhetoric recently, blaming Seoul and Washington for heightening tensions in Korean Peninsula.

On Thursday, North Korea warned that South Korea and the U.S. must “halt all hostile actions and provocations” before it engages in talks to ease tension.



By Yoon Min-sik
(minsikyoon@heraldcorp.com)