North Korea blasted U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday for calling the communist nation an "evil place" and denouncing its human rights conditions, saying it shows that the United States remains hostile toward Pyongyang.

The top American diplomat made the "evil place" remark in an interview with MSNBC on Wednesday, saying the North is "one of the most closed and cruel places on earth." On Thursday, Kerry also criticized Pyongyang for its human rights record that the State Department described as "deplorable" in its latest report.

"This is another vivid expression of the U.S.' hostile policy toward the DPRK," a spokesman for North Korea's foreign ministry said, according to Pyongyang's Korean Central News Agency. DPRK stands for North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Kerry's remarks "are no more than a manifestation of his frustration and outbursts let loose by the defeated as the DPRK is winning one victory after another despite the whole gamut of pressure upon it over the nuclear issue," the spokesman said.

"Before blaming others, Kerry had better ponder over what to say of the U.S., a tundra of human rights, as it commits horrible genocide in various parts of the world in disregard of international law under the signboard of 'liberty' and

'democracy,'" the spokesman said.

Kerry should "bear in mind that no pressure is workable" on the North, he said.

"No problem can be solved between the DPRK and the U.S. as long as the U.S. persists in its hostile policy toward the DPRK. The DPRK will keep going its own way," the spokesman said.



(Yonhap)