N. Korea Denounces U.S. over Spying Revelations
North Korea, one of the world's most repressive societies, branded the United States a "kingpin" of human rights abuses Tuesday, following revelations of the U.S. government's Internet surveillance program.
A bylined commentary in the government's official Minju Joson newspaper said U.S. National Security Agency whistleblower Edward Snowden had exposed the global nature of the NSA's intrusive monitoring activities.
"This clearly proves once again that the U.S. is a kingpin of human rights abuses as it put the world under its watch network and has conducted espionage against mankind," said the commentary as reported by the official Korean Central News Agency.
North Korea is widely recognized as one of the most world's most tightly-controlled societies where daily life is monitored and regulated at almost every level.
Washington has repeatedly sought to censure Pyongyang over its human rights record in fora like the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva.
The Minju Joson commentary argued that Snowden's revelations had exposed the hypocrisy of the U.S. position and said Washington would have to reflect before mentioning "such sacred words as human rights" in the future.
The article echoed criticism in the official Chinese media
China's official army newspaper on Sunday branded the U.S. National Security Agency's surveillance program as "frightening", and accused the U.S. of being a "habitual offender" when it comes to network monitoring.
Source: Agence France Presse
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