North Korea on Saturday lashed out at U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry for his remarks on MSNBC last month, according to its state media.

   "North Korea is one of the most closed and cruel places on earth," Kerry said on Feb. 26 in an interview with the U.S. television broadcaster, adding that "there's evil that is taking place there."

   The Rodong Sinmun, the mouthpiece of the Workers' Party of Korea, said that "his remarks are too lowbrow to be considered as those of a person fancying himself as the top diplomat of a big country."

   Comparing Kerry's remarks to those by former U.S. President George W. Bush, who labeled the North as belonging to the "Axis of Evil" along with Iran and Iraq, the North Korean newspaper argued the U.S. state secretary effectively reiterated Bush's claims that the U.S. should rule over other nations opposed to it using force.

   It also denounced that the stronghold of evil is the U.S.,which is invading and terrorizing other countries. (Yonhap)