Kerry blamed North Korea for continuing to break promises, make threats and ‘show flagrant disregard for international law’ by continuing provocative nuclear and missile activity while oppressing its own people.
He said North Korea’s ‘horrific conduct’ must be exposed and vowed to ratchet up pressure on Pyongyang to change its behavior, particularly since it has rebuffed repeated attempts to restart denuclearization negotiations.
‘They have grown the threat of their program and have acted with a kind of reckless abandon,’ Kerry said, referring to North Korea and its leadership, less than a week after South Korea’s spy agency said North Korean leader Kim Jong Un ordered his defense chief executed with an anti-aircraft gun for complaining about the young ruler, talking back to him and sleeping during a meeting Kim presided over.
That allegation, if true, adds to concerns about the erratic nature of Kim’s rule, particularly after Pyongyang claimed last weekend it had successfully test-fired a newly developed ballistic missile from a submarine.
Kerry called the reported killing just the latest in a series of ‘grotesque, grisly, horrendous, public displays of executions on a whim and fancy.’