Countries that choose to host North Korean embassies (the United States is, quite rightly, not among them) take a real risk. Not only is the regime that they serve a horror show, but many of the country’s “diplomats” are literally criminals. When not conducting “diplomacy,” they engage in money laundering, counterfeiting, and drug trafficking schemes.
They also say appalling things from time to time. In an interview with the Independent newspaper published Friday, North Korea’s ambassador to the United Kingdom said that his country is “ready for nuclear war.” Even more disgusting, he called North Korean defectors—who are in many cases fleeing starvation and torture—“human scum.” He elaborated on his theory: “Do you know the difference between human beings and animals? Human beings have a conscience and morality. If they do not have a conscience and a morality, they are like nothing. They’re animals. That is why we call the defectors animals.”
Despite President Obama’s penchant for “engagement” with horrific regimes, let’s hope that the North Koreans don’t set up shop on Massachusetts Avenue any time soon.
