Pyongyang/Seoul, Dec 10 (IANS) North Korea has warned US President Donald Trump to stop "abusive language" that may offend its leader Kim Jong-un, Pyongyang's state media reported.
"The recent words and expressions spouted one after another by Trump sound like a threat to someone at a glance but they are a corroboration that he feels fear inside," Ri Su-yong, Vice-Chairman of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, said in a statement carried by the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).
Last week, Trump hinted that the US would use military force against North Korea if necessary, Yonhap News Agency reported.
In response, North Korea said it would take "prompt corresponding actions at any level" if the US uses force against it.
"Trump might be in great jitters but he had better accept the status quo that as he sowed, so he should reap, and think twice if he does not want to see bigger catastrophic consequences," KCNA quoted Ri as saying.
"Trump would be well advised to quit abusive language which may further offend the Chairman," he added.
On Tuesday, North's official newspaper, Rodong Sinmun raised Kim's year-long drive for "self-reliance" in an apparent bid to tighten its internal consolidation amid the escalation tension with the US.
"There have been outrageous schemes by hostile forces to bring us into the influence of their rule," the paper said, adding: "It has been made clear further that independence and self-reliance are our life."
Kim and Trump held their first summit in June 2018 in Singapore, during which Pyongyang promised to work toward denuclearization in exchange for security guarantees and "new relations" between the two countries, Yonhap News Agency reported.
Denuclearization talks, however, have been stalled since their second summit in Vietnam in February collapsed as they remained far apart over how to match Pyongyang's steps with Washington's concessions.
North Korea has set the end of this year as a deadline for the US to come up with new acceptable proposals, saying that it could otherwise take a "new way."
--IANS
ksk/
(At The Quint, we question everything. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member today.)