A spokesman for the Foreign Ministry of the DPRK gave the following answer to a question raised by KCNA Thursday as regards the fact that the U.S. State Department faulted the DPRK in its “2016 International Religious Freedom Report”:
In the report on August 15 the U.S. State Department slandered the DPRK again.
The rhetoric about “religious freedom” touted by the U.S. is a means for creating pretexts for aggression and interference in sovereign states and for this it is denounced and rejected by many countries around the world. The report which found fault with the DPRK does not deserve even a passing note as it is a desperate effort of those driven into a tight corner in the political and military stand-off with the DPRK.
What can never be tolerated is that the report slandered the Juche idea, the eternal guiding idea of the Workers’ Party of Korea, and the socialist system, the lifeline of the Korean people.
The reality in which the DPRK is enjoying the new improvement of the overall state might and strategic position despite the unprecedented sanctions and pressure is a demonstration of the validity and vitality of the great Juche idea and Korean-style socialist system.
The U.S. provocative acts coming from all directions even over the religious issue of the DPRK at a time when the confrontation between the DPRK and the U.S. has been strained to the extremes will incur a due price. The U.S. had better immediately stop arrogant provocative acts and unilateral pressure on the DPRK but pay heed to the warning that it should no longer provoke the DPRK.
