North Korea calls Pelosi ‘destroyer of international peace’

North Korea on Saturday called US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi "the worst destroyer of international peace and stability,” accusing her of inciting anti-North Korea sentiment and enraging China during her Asian tour earlier this week.

Pelosi travelled to South Korea after visiting Taiwan, which had prompted China to launch military exercises including missile strike training in waters near the self-governed island. China views Taiwan as part of its own territory to be annexed by force if necessary.

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While in South Korea, Pelosi visited a border area with North Korea and discussed the North’s nuclear program with South Korean National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin Pyo. According to Kim, the two agreed to support their governments’ push for denuclearisation and peace on the Korean Peninsula based on strong, extended deterrence against the North and diplomacy.

On Saturday, Jo Yong Sam, director general at the North Korean Foreign Ministry's press and information affairs department, slammed Pelosi over her visit to the border and discussion of anti-North Korean deterrence.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un attends a meeting. File photo

"Pelosi, who had come under a volley of due criticism from China for destroying regional peace and stability by visiting Taiwan, stirred up the atmosphere of confrontation” with North Korea during her stay in South Korea, Jo said in a statement carried by state media.

Calling Pelosi "the worst destroyer of international peace and stability,” Jo argued Pelosi’s behavior in South Korea clearly showed the Biden administration’s hostile policy toward North Korea.

"It would be a fatal mistake for her to think that she can go scot-free in the Korean Peninsula,” Jo warned. "The US will have to pay dearly for all the sources of trouble spawned by her wherever she went.”

Pelosi’s visit to the Joint Security Area at the Korean border on Thursday made her the highest-profile American to go there since then-President Donald Trump visited in 2019 for a meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

Associated Press