SEOUL, July 14 (UPI) -- North Korea denounced the United States as a "heinous violator of human rights" on Wednesday, but has not issued a response to the most recent South Korean announcement on THAAD.
The verbal attack on Washington may be part of a series of reactions from Pyongyang regarding the U.S. decision to sanction Kim Jong Un for human rights abuses, South Korean news service Newsis reported.
North Korea appeared to be referring to the Chilcot report, a British inquiry into former Prime Minister Tony Blair's decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003, according to Newsis.
A Pyongyang foreign ministry spokesman told state news agency KCNA: "The United States has proved once again it is the source of trouble, sweeping the world with acts of terror and human rights violations."
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"An atrocious nation of war criminals, violator of human rights, the United States needs to undergo a rigorous judgment of rights abuses and yet goes around pretending to be an 'international judge,' meddling in other countries' affairs," the statement read.
The North Korean spokesman said the United States had attacked the country's "highest dignity," which is an "unforgivable crime."
Pyongyang also said it plans to break down the United States' "vicious hostilities" through a central focus on nuclear power and "cultivating deterrence."
North Korea has previously condemned the plan to deploy a U.S. anti-missile defense system in South Korea, but its media service has not issued a statement since Seoul confirmed a location for THAAD deployment on Wednesday.
Pyongyang had threatened to mobilize a "physical" response if THAAD is placed in the South.
