REFILE-North Korea lashes out at South's new president

Mon Mar 31, 2008 8:30pm EDT

(Refiles to fix typo in first paragraph)

SEOUL, April 1 (Reuters) - North Korea unleashed a torrent of insults on Tuesday at South Korea's new president, the latest in a series of moves where Pyongyang has lashed out against his government's tough stance toward the North.

Within the last week, the North has test-fired missiles, expelled South Korean officials working at a joint factory park in the North and threatened to reduce South Korea to ashes in a pre-emptive attack in its show of anger at President Lee Myung-bak and the South's ally the United States.

"Lee Myung-bak had better wash his own nose instead of expressing 'concern' about someone else," its communist party newspaper said in a commentary carried on its KCNA news agency.

This is the first mention of Lee in the North's official media since he won the December election. The commentary mentioned Lee, who took office in February, dozens of times.

Lee's government has warned Pyongyang that if North Korea wants to keep receiving aid, it should improve human rights, abide by an international nuclear deal and start returning the more than 1,000 Southerners kidnapped or held since the 1950-53 Korean War.

Lee's stand has infuriated the touchy North, used to taking billions of dollars over the past 10 years from Lee's left-of-centre predecessors, who asked for little in return under their so-called "sunshine policy" of engagement, analysts said.

"The Lee Myung-bak regime will be held totally responsible for ushering in a catastrophic incident by freezing North-South relations and destroying peace and stability on the Korean peninsula through its pro-U.S., anti-North Korea confrontational attempts," the commentary in Rodong Sinmun said.

(Reporting by Yoo Choonsik, writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Valerie Lee)



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