North Korea's UK ambassador defends Pyongyang's stance in rare speech

[steve2470]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/apr/15/north-korea-ambassador-rare-speech

The North Korean ambassador to Britain has made a rare speech to a foreign audience, defending Pyongyang's stance as a response to the provocations of the United States and South Korea.

The 11-minute address by Hyon Hak-bong was posted on a YouTube channel carrying North Korean propaganda on Monday afternoon. The timing of the unusual intervention is striking, coming as the US secretary of state, John Kerry pressed his message that Washington sought a peaceful resolution. The North has dismissed a proposal of dialogue from the South as a "crafty trick".

The London embassy has so far declined to respond to media queries on current tensions on the Korean peninsula. But in his talk to the Communist party of Great Britain (Marxist-Leninist), Hyon addressed the situation at length, insisting that Pyongyang is only interested in self-defence.

Adam Cathcart, an expert on North Korea at Queen's University Belfast, said it was not unheard of for Pyongyang's diplomats to attend meetings, such as those held by friendship organisations, but they usually did so to receive praise or messages of appreciation. He could not recall a previous speech of this kind in the UK.

[steve2470]

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