Pyongyang blasts UN official's remarks on human rights in DPRK

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Thursday blasted remarks of UN's special rapporteur on human rights in the DPRK Marzuki Darusman, saying he "slung mud at the dignity of its supreme leadership."

The special rapporteur said in an interview with the Associate Press on Monday that the DPRK's leadership system must be "completely dismantled" to eradicate human rights abuses in the country, indicating that human rights and the government cannot coexist in the DPRK.

"This fully revealed his true colors as a dirty stooge under the veil of human rights champion who acts a shock brigade in implementing the U.S. hostile policy toward the DPRK," the official KCNA news agency quoted a DPRK foreign ministry spokesman as saying.

"Darusman threw mud at the dignity of the DPRK supreme leadership absolutely trusted by its army and people," the spokesman said, adding "such impudent behavior deserves the punishment of Heaven."

He asked Darusman to make public the names of "north defectors" who testified as victims of human rights abuses so that Pyongyang can reveal to the world the true identities of those "false testifiers."

The DPRK will continue to toughly counter the anti-DPRK "human rights" racket kicked up by the United States and other hostile forces, he said.

The Third Committee of the 69th United Nations General Assembly on Nov.18 passed a resolution, drafted by the European Union and Japan, that recommends the Security Council refer the DPRK to the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity. Endi