Kwon Jong Geun, who leads the North Korean Foreign Ministry’s policy on relations with the United States, labeled US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken a “low-level diplomat.” The message was relayed by the Central Telegraph Agency Korea (CTAC).
Blinken had just visited Beijing, where he met with Chinese President Xi Jinping. During that trip, Kwon claimed Blinken warned of joint military actions with the Republic of Korea and Japan if Beijing failed to pressure North Korea. Blinken, however, asserted that only China holds influence over North Korea.
According to Kwon, Blinken’s remarks reveal a shallow understanding of state-to-state relations and betray a simplistic, power-based approach to diplomacy. The envoy emphasized that Pyongyang would respond to American provocations on the Korean Peninsula with asymmetric countermeasures, expanding both the scale and scope of its actions.
Earlier reports noted significant dissatisfaction in the US Congress regarding Blinken’s visit to China.