PYONGYANG, North Korea, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- North Korea said Monday the Koreas are teetering near war, calling South Korean leader Lee Myung-bak a dictator who has escalated confrontation.
Two days before Lee, a conservative, marks his first anniversary as South Korea's president, state-run media in North Korea stepped up their denunciations of Lee, who has said denuclearization of the Korean peninsula is a precondition to any more cross-border investments, South Korea's media agency Yonhap reported.
"The Lee group has pushed the inter-Korean relations to the phase of total collapse and driven the situation to the brink of a war during the first year of its office. This is a thrice-cursed crime against the nation," editorialized Rodong Sinmun, the newspaper of the North's Workers' Party.
Uriminzokkiri, North Korea's official Web site, compared Lee to other military rulers, giving accounts of the use of water cannons, batons and shields by police during street protests last year, candlelight vigils against U.S. beef imports and a squatters' protest in a redevelopment area.
"Traitor Lee Myung-bak's first year in office were days of treason against the Korean people marked by his sycophancy toward the United States and the era of darkness notorious for his extreme fascist dictatorial rule," a commentary posted on the Web site said.
South Korea, however, blamed the North's stance for the deteriorating inter-Korean ties, Yonhap reported, saying officials propose trying to maintain talks with Pyongyang.
