DPRK rejects US accusation of no religious freedom

A foreign ministry spokesman of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Friday rejected the U.S. accusation of no tolerance for religious freedom in the country, said the official KCNA news agency.

The U.S. State Department on Wednesday issued its 2014 International Religious Freedom Report, in which it blasted the DPRK for "zero-tolerance for religious freedom and poor human rights record."

The foreign ministry spokesman described the move as a "farce" intended to "hurt the ideology and social system" of the country and "impair the dignity and authority of the headquarters of the DPRK."

"This is nothing but the last-ditch effort of the hostile forces taken aback by the most powerful demonstration of the unbreakable single-minded unity of the army and people of the DPRK around the leader through the celebrations of the 70th anniversary of the Workers' Party of Korea," said the unnamed spokesman.

The DPRK staged the largest-ever military parade Saturday to celebrate the 70th birthday of the ruling Worker's Party of Korea. Top leader Kim Jong Un gave a speech lauding the party's invincibility and arrays of military hardware were put on display.

Pyongyang also vowed to "strongly react against the persistent 'human rights' racket kicked up by the U.S. to bring down the social system of the DPRK."
   Xinhua -China.org.cn  
   17/10/15
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