North Korea said on Thursday the United States has no remaining to comment on inter-Korean issues, and it is to Washington’s interest to remain calm on the off chance that it needs the upcoming presidential election to go easily, state media revealed.
The announcement comes after the U.S. State Department said it was disillusioned at North Korea for suspending communication hotlines with South Korea on Tuesday.
“If the U.S. pokes its nose into others’ affairs with careless remarks, far from minding its internal affairs, at a time when its political situation is in the worst-ever confusion, it may encounter an unpleasant thing hard to deal with,” Kwon Jong Gun, director-general for U.S. affairs at North Korea’s Foreign Ministry, said in comments carried by state news agency KCNA.
The United States should “hold its tongue” and address its domestic issues except if it needs to “experience a hair-raiser,” he said.
“It would be good not only for the U.S. interests but also for the easy holding of the upcoming presidential election.”
It is unclear what North Korea would do to disrupt the election or cause problems for U.S. President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign, said James Kim, an exploration individual at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies in Seoul.
“If anything, there’s a chance that provocation may even rally the country around the incumbent,” he said.
After a series of historic summits in 2018 and 2019 between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, little progress has been made in disassembling the North’s nuclear weapons program, and Pyongyang has communicated expanding dissatisfaction without breaking sweat sanctions.
North Korea said on Tuesday it would cut off hotlines with South Korea after days of lashing out at Seoul for not preventing defectors from sending pamphlets and other material into the North.
On Wednesday, South Korea said it would make lawful action against two associations that lead such tasks.