- (AFP) - The North Korean government condemned what it
called the "moral leprosy" of US President George W. Bush and
said it was powerfully equipped for any conflict.
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- In the first official North Korean reaction to Bush's
State of the Union speech this week, a foreign ministry spokesman said:
"We are sharply watching the disturbing moves of the United States
that has pushed the situation to the brink of war."
-
- The spokesman said the September 11 attacks on New York
and Washington and scandals such as the collapse of the US energy giant
Enron were "entirely attributable to the unilateral and
self-opinionated
foreign policy, political immaturity and moral leprosy of the Bush
administration".
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- In his speech to a joint session of Congress on Tuesday,
Bush labelled North Korea, Iran and Iraq an "axis of evil" and
warned they could become targets of the anti-terrorism war unless they
end support for extremist groups and curtail attempts to proliferate
weapons
of mass destruction.
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- The spokesman, quoted by the official Korean Central
News Agency (KCNA), said Bush's acts justified the North's openly anti-US
stand.
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- "The prevailing situation where the US openly
disclosed
its intention to stifle the DPRK (North Korea) by force of arms makes us
keenly realize once again what a just stand the DPRK took when it has
followed
the US with vigilance and what a far-sighted policy it has pursued to equip
itself with powerful offensive and defensive means, tightening its
belt."
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