N. Korean Envoy Blames US, S. Korea Provocative Moves for Tension in Peninsula

North Korean Ambassador to Tehran Kang Sam Hyon in a meeting with Fars News Agency Managing-Director Seyed Nezamoddin Moussavi underlined that Washington and Seoul are responsible for the unstable conditions in the Korean Peninsula.

“The main root of tension in the Korean Peninsula is the provocative measures of the US and South Korea,” the North Korean envoy said during the meeting in the Iranian capital on Wednesday.

“We are trying to maintain peace and security in the Korean Peninsula while developing North Korea into a powerful and rich country,” he added.

Kang pointed to the remarks of North Korean Leader Kim Jong Un in early 2015, and said, “The military confrontation between North and South Koreas should end in order to restore peace and security in the region and the Korean Peninsula.”

The North Korean envoy reiterated that his country is trying to bring back tranquility to the peninsula, and said, “Unfortunately the South Korean government has responded to our stance with military flights and holding joint drills with the US.”

Kang described the US-South Korea joint maneuvers in the Korean Peninsula as serious threat to peace and security, and said, “South Korea has fired 36 mortar shells at our country along its borders with North Korea in the last several days.”

The North Korean ambassador pointed to the South Koreans’ mounting of speakers along the border regions, and said, “South Korea’s propaganda against North Korea by means of these speakers and their insults to the North Korean leader is in no way acceptable to us.”

He said that South Korea’s continued negative propaganda against the North is part of Seoul’s psychological warfare against Pyongyang, and added, “The North Korean army has given an ultimatum to the other side to stop the propaganda (the loudspeakers) or wait for Pyongyang’s reaction.”

Yet, the North Korean envoy blamed the US as the main culprit that is behind Seoul’s provocative moves.

“After North Korea’s serious ultimatum to the South, Seoul stopped it, while the negotiations between the two sides were also conducted and they agreed to put an end to the crisis after 48 hours of talks,” Kang added.

He noted that the agreement between the two sides means a halt to military measures by the two sides and trying to restore tranquility to the region.

Kang underlined that the US is the biggest creator of crisis in the world, and said, “The US has always been behind the scene of South Korea’s propaganda against the North, while it is obvious that crises in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and the Middle East are all administered by the US.”

Fars News Agency Managing-Director Seyed Nezamoddin Moussavi, for his part, underlined the need for collective efforts to stand against the western hegemony over the media, warning that the world has a wrong perception about many events due to misreporting by the mainstream media in the West.

“An interesting point to me is that in addition to the military threats of other countries against North Korea, the country is also under political and cultural onslaughts; the same approach is being pursued by the West against the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Moussavi said.

The FNA managing-director reiterated that both Tehran and Pyongyang have not done enough to correct the image that the western media outlets display of the Islamic Republic of Iran and North Korea, and said, “We should overcome this through mutual cooperation.”

“When I, as a journalist, check websites through the web the image that is seen of Iran and North Korea is reverse, inappropriate and totally different from the existing realities in both countries; this difference is the result of the world media’s subordination to the West and the Zionists,” Moussavi said.

He reiterated that when the western media reporters travel to Iran and encounter a very clearly different reality, they feel astonished and express surprise at the western media reports and coverage of events in Iran.

Moussavi reiterated that dissemination of false news about those countries that are no obedient to the West is not limited to Iran, and added, “The western media release distorted news and image of the people and governments when covering events in these countries such as war, bloodshed, famine, violence and poverty and the same model is pursued by the western media with regard to North Korea.”

He further expressed regret that countries like Iran and North Korea which are exposed to such baseless and false coverage of their countries in the western media do not do anything important and effective to break this hegemony.

“Another regretting point is that we usually receive news from the western media outlets as our source and these news and reports are prepared from their own views and perspectives and this issues is our great weakness,” Moussavi added.

He said that both Iran and North Korea have positive, good and interesting aspects in different areas such as society, culture and economy of which both nations should be aware, “and this needs enhancing relations and sharing experiences while we should try to shatter the image created by the western media through a completely systematic method and in line with (our) national interests”.

The FNA managing-director further reminded that the most and worst oppressions are committed against ethnic minorities in the US, but they don’t receive due media coverage. “There are many injustices in the US that can be reflected in the world media, while they are providing the largest supports for the terrorist groups.

Moussavi pointed to the criminal acts of the ISIL terrorist group, and said, “The terrorist groups such as ISIL are directly supported by the US allies like Turkey and Saudi Arabia.

“The crimes committed by these terrorist groups in Iraq, Syria and Yemen are completely in line with the US policies,” he said.

The FNA managing-director also said that the crimes which the Zionists commit in Palestine take place are not criticized, but the slightest rule and practice of the law in Iran and North Korea is covered by the western media under the name of suppression and violation of human rights.

Moussavi underlined that the really violent encounters take place under the pretext of democracy in the US and Europe, and said, “We should end such double-standard views and treatment of events.”

“We are trying to break the atmosphere created against Iran by the western media,” the FNA managing-director said.

Moussavi also complained that the western media blame North Korea for any incident which takes place between the North and South Koreas.

“But the western media have never relayed South Korea’s faults as they are trying to introduce North Korea as the only cause of tension in the peninsula,” he concluded, protesting at the biased view and coverage of tensions between the two Koreas.