North Korea calls U.N. human rights commissioner 'mediocre peddler'

SEOUL, June 29 (UPI) -- North Korea let strong words fly at the U.N.'s High Commissioner for Human Rights on Monday, saying Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein is the Korean equivalent of a "mediocre peddler of cheap goods."

The remark was published on the North Korea website Uriminzokkiri, a Korean-language news portal targeting a South Korea audience, according to news agency Yonhap.

According to North Korea, Al Hussein had said the isolated state is not qualified to be a member of the United Nations.

Using rhetoric that reflected Pyongyang's mood since the opening of the U.N.'s first Seoul-based human rights office, North Korea said in response the U.N.'s top human rights representative was no doubt a "mediocre peddler of cheap goods."

South Korean television network SBS reported North Korea state propaganda said Pyongyang's pursuit of its enemies, "no matter who they are, and no matter where they may hide," does not just apply to the "conspiring" forces of the United States and the South Korean "puppet government."

"Zeid should ought to know that well," North Korea said in its message.

The High Commissioner was in Seoul to commemorate the new U.N. Seoul office, and said during a speech last Thursday the human rights situation in North Korea is "appalling."

Al Hussein also said the strong response from Pyongyang on the office's establishment is not necessarily a bad sign.

"The Government of the [North Korea] is reacting," he said.

"Sometimes this reaction comes in the form of angry threats. But at the same time there are signs the [North Korea] Government is making more effort to at least engage with some of the issues being raised in the international arena."

Last Friday, North Korean defector Jeong Kwang-il submitted the first request for investigation to the new U.N. office.

Jeong, who once was held as a political prisoner in North Korea, identified 180 missing captives and urged the U.N. to launch an investigation into their whereabouts.