North Korea is warning the American ambassador to South Korea that he could face a “bigger mishap” than being stabbed in the face – an act of violence that he suffered in March.
The comments were made
by the country’s Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of
Korea, which took exception to recent comments made by US
Ambassador Mark Lippert about North Korea’s poor human rights
record and nuclear program.
On Wednesday, Lippert said North Korea could improve its
relationship with the world and the United States by boosting its
respect for human rights and moving to halt its nuclear program.
“Lippert needs to drop the bad habit of rashly engaging in
scheming chatter distorting the truth and instigating war by
taking issue with us,” the North Korean committee said on
the Uriminzokkiri website Thursday, as quoted by Reuters.
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“Otherwise, next time, he could face a bigger mishap than
getting cut in the cheek by a South Korean citizen,” it
added.
The two Koreas are still technically at war since an armistice
was signed in 1953 instead of a peace treaty, and North Korea
frequently accuses the US of threatening to renew hostilities in
the region. The US, meanwhile, recently accused North Korea of
masterminding a hack against Sony Pictures.
“It is unbearable insult and mockery against us and a laughable
and brazen charge that cannot be overlooked,” the comittee added,
referring to Lippert’s statements.
The US State Department said only that it had seen the statement
and that it is “unfortunately consistent with the nature of
the regime and its rhetoric.”
The comments from the North come more than a month after a South
Korean slashed Lippert in the face with a fruit knife. The man
reportedly yelled some kind of comment about reuniting the Koreas
during the attack.
“The guy comes in wearing traditional Korean brown and tan
dress. He yells something, goes up to the ambassador and slashes
him in the face,” Michael Lammbrau of the Arirang Institute
think tank, who witnessed the attack, said to Reuters.
“People wrestled the guy to the ground, the ambassador was
still in his chair. The ambassador fought him from his seat. He
was escorted out afterwards. There was a trail of blood behind
him. He had about a seven inch-long gash on the right side of his
face.”
Lippert was hospitalized but recovered. The man who slashed him
has been charged with attempted murder.