Kerry slams N. Korea provocations, 'grotesque' abuses

US Secretary of State John Kerry on May 18 called for increased pressure on North Korea as he slammed Kim Jong-Un's "egregious" leadership and "grotesque" executions of Pyongyang officials.

Speaking in the South Korean capital Seoul, Kerry said recent provocations, including the test of a new submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM), demonstrated that North Korea was nowhere near showing the commitment to denuclearisation demanded by the international community.
 
"Instead, it continues to pursue nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, it continues to break promises and make threats, and it continues to show flagrant disregard for international laws," he told a joint press conference with South Korean Foreign Minister Yun Byong-Se.
 
"That is why it is important for us to ramp up international pressure for North Korea to change its behaviour," he added.
 
Just over a week ago, the North said it had successfully test-fired an SLBM, defying a UN ban on Pyongyang using or testing ballistic missile technology.
 
A fully-developed SLBM capability would take the North Korean nuclear threat to a new level, allowing deployment far beyond the Korean peninsula and the potential to retaliate in the event of a nuclear attack.
         
In a scathing attack on Kim Jong-Un, Kerry said his leadership was one of the most "egregious displays ... anywhere on the planet" of reckless disregard for human rights.
 
He specifically cited "stories of grotesque, grisly, horrendous public displays of executions" carried out of a personal whim by Kim -- often against those closest to him.
 
South Korea's intelligence agency reported last week that North Korea's defence minister, Hyon Yong-Chol, had been purged...