N. Korea slams US, some western countries for skipping UN meeting on racism

North Korea rebuked the United States and other western nations Thursday for having double standards on human rights and racism, taking issue with their absence from a recent symbolic UN meeting.

In a note posted on the foreign ministry's website, North Korea criticized the US, Britain and others for not taking part in a high-level meeting at the UN General Assembly last month to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the Durban Declaration and Programme of Action that calls for racial justice.

It accused the countries of having "the darkest history" in racism and "pouring cold water" on efforts to protect and improve human rights, while claiming to be "advanced nations" and acting like "judges" in the fields.

"Before western countries dispute here and there of non-existent 'human rights problems' of others, (they) should focus on their own domestic affairs, such as systematic racism and human rights violations," it added.

In recent years, Pyongyang has increased such postings, related to diplomatic and international issues, on the website of its foreign ministry.

An official at South Korea's Unification Ministry, which handles inter-Korean affairs, said that it continues to monitor those messages considered to reflect the North Korean authorities' views. But the official pointed out that such online postings apparently carry less weight in comparison with the ministry's official statements. (Yonhap)