North Korea again accused the spy agencies of South Korea and the United States on Thursday of plotting a terrorist attack on its leader Kim Jong-un.
North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Han Song-ryol gave a briefing on the situation to foreign envoys and representatives of international bodies stationed in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, the state-run Korean Central News Agency reported.
(Yonhap)
"Heinous terrorists were recently detected in the DPRK. The terrorists were infiltrated by the CIA of the US and the puppet National Intelligence Service of South Korea in a bid to commit state-sponsored terrorism against the supreme leadership of the DPRK by use of a biochemical substance," the KCNA said.
DPRK is the abbreviation of North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
The report said Han "declared the principled stand of the DPRK government to find out all of the terrorist maniacs and mercilessly wipe them out."
He then warned that a "Korean-style war on terrorism will be commenced at once in a consecutive and intensive way to root out the plot-breeding centers and dens of evil on this planet, including the CIA and the NIS."
The report did not disclose the identities of the foreign envoys present at the briefing, but said they expressed "deep concern" over the issue.
The North's accusation is believed to be designed to instigate public animosity toward the enemies in a bid to bolster their allegiance to the leadership.
On May 5, North Korea's Ministry of State Security made a similar accusation of an attempted terrorist attack by Seoul and Washington and threatened to launch an anti-terrorist attack against the intelligence agencies. (Yonhap)