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N. Korea criticizes President Park for US visit plan

May 28, 2015
South Korean President Park Geun-hye descends from the plane upon her arrival to the military airport in Bogota, Colombia, Thursday, April 16, 2015. Park Geun-hye is in Colombia in an official two-days visit and will then tour Peru, Chile and Brazil. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

South Korean President Park Geun-hye descends from the plane upon her arrival to the military airport in Bogota, Colombia, Thursday, April 16, 2015. Park Geun-hye is in Colombia in an official two-days visit and will then tour Peru, Chile and Brazil. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)

SEOUL, May 28 (Yonhap) — North Korea rebuked President Park Geun-hye on Thursday for planning to visit the United States in mid-June, saying that her move will derail a possible joint event to mark the 15th anniversary of an inter-Korean summit.

North Korea’s propaganda website Uriminzokkiri criticized Park for scheduling the trip, which overlaps the 15th anniversary of a historic inter-Korean summit that falls on June 15. Park will travel to Washington from June 14-18, according to her office.

Park and U.S. President Barack Obama will meet on June 16 to discuss a wide range of issues including North Korea’s nuclear programs, it added.

“Park is trying to mess up a possible joint event,” the North’s website said. “Why does she plan to visit the U.S., the prime enemy that divided the two Koreas? This shows the repetition of Park’s bad habit for making overseas escape.”

The North’s criticism against Park is not new as Pyongyang has recently ratcheted up its condemnation against South Korea’s leader, calling her a “malignant tumor” who harms inter-Korean ties.

It added that the U.S. is trying to strengthen a trilateral cooperation among Seoul, Washington and Tokyo as it is very jittery about what the North claimed to be a successful test-firing of a submarine-launched ballistic missile.

“Park’s visit to the U.S. is not only an attempt to make overseas escape but also a risky gambling that hampers the Korean Peninsula and the region,” it said.

The North’s move also came after the top nuclear envoys from South Korea, the U.S. and Japan agreed Wednesday to ratchet up pressure and sanctions on the North. They shared the view that advancement in the North’s nuclear capability is “serious.”

An official at Seoul’s unification ministry voiced regret over the North’s repeated criticism of Park, calling on Pyongyang to stop insulting her.

“North Korea should immediately stop slandering Park and instead, it should accept Seoul’s offer for talks for better inter-Korean ties,” the official said, asking not to be named.

On the North’s move to link Park’s visit to the U.S. to the June 15 event, the official said that there is no connection between the two.

The South’s civilian groups and North Koreans agreed in early May to push for joint events to mark the 15th anniversary of the inter-Korean summit and the 70th anniversary of Korea’s liberation from Japan’s 1910-45 colonial rule.

But it is not clear whether a commemorative event could be held in Seoul next month as North Korea has not accepted the South’s offer for talks to prepare for the event.

Seoul has recently vowed to spur civilian inter-Korean exchanges in the areas of culture, sports and other non-political programs if those will help improve the strained inter-Korean ties and restore national unity.