DPRK FM DENOUNCES US "HUMAN RIGHTS" RACKET

Pyongyang, February 19 (KCNA) -- A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of the DPRK Thursday made public the following statement denouncing the U.S. for making desperate efforts to fan up the atmosphere of pressure upon the DPRK while taking issue with it over the non-existent "human rights" issue:

In Washington on Feb. 17 the U.S. held a "conference on human rights" against the DPRK under the absurd pretext of the first anniversary of the "report of the UN Commission of Inquiry" (COI) on the human rights situation in the DPRK.

It was reported that the U.S. staged a farce malignantly slandering the DPRK, repeating the tattered false data, with the "envoy for the human rights issue in north Korea" in the U.S. Department of State, former and incumbent persons of the department and U.S. Congress, the former chairman of the COI and its "special rapporteur" and "defectors from the north" attending.

It has already been brought to light that the "report of COI" and the "human rights resolution" of the UN General Assembly which were cooked up by the U.S. last year were forcibly adopted on the basis of the false testimonies of "defectors from the north".

The inhuman tortures by the CIA of the U.S. and other human rights abuses in the U.S. were disclosed, sparking off big astonishment and resentment of the international community.

The U.S., driven into the tight corner at home and abroad, is kicking up the persistent "human rights" racket against the DPRK in order to escape its poor plight and shift the international accusations and attack onto others.

Great irony is that the U.S. held the nonsensical "conference on human rights" while dreaming of "internal disorganization" though it admitted itself that it has no chance to win military standoff with the DPRK.

As we did at the time when the U.S. held a "meeting of high-ranking officials on human rights in north Korea" before the UN General Assembly last year, we strongly demanded this time the U.S. stop at once such foolish farce and officially informed it of our just stand to take part in the "conference" as the party concerned.

However, the U.S. finally refused to accept our demand only to reveal itself that the "conference" is nothing but a back-street one.

If the U.S. and its allied forces are truly interested in human rights, they should mind their own business by halting plot-breeding racket such as "conference" and their human rights abuses such as tortures in the U.S. and suppression on charges of the violation of the "Security Law" in south Korea, condemned by the world.

The ceaseless despicable anti-DPRK "human rights" racket by the U.S. and its stooges is hardening the will of the service personnel and people of the DPRK to annihilate the enemies.

We are fully ready for any confrontation with the U.S. and will shatter the reckless "human rights" racket by the hostile forces through our toughest reaction.

The moves of the hostile forces to dare provoke the socialist system of the DPRK which was chosen and has been consolidated by the Korean people will not be able to escape disgraceful doom.