Pyongyang slams Trump’s ‘criminal’ security strategy

SEOUL: North Korea branded US President Donald Trump’s first National Security Strategy a ‘criminal document’ on Friday, hours before a UN vote on a USdrafted resolution ramping up sanctions on the hermit state.

The security report is a litany of US grievances, outlining the superpower’s approach to the world with biting language framing Beijing and Moscow as global competitors.

The strategy unveiled Monday is “a typical outcome of the Yankee-style arrogance, seeking total subordination of the whole world to the interests of the US”, North Korean state news agency KCNA quoted a foreign ministry spokesman as saying.

“It is also a criminal document which clearly reflects the gangsterlike nature of Trump who likes to create trouble,” the spokesman added.

China and Russia have also decried the 68-page report, which pilloried both nations as ‘revisionist powers’ bent on rolling back American interests.

A Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman said Tuesday the strategy displayed a ‘Cold War mentality’, while the Kremlin denounced its “imperialist character”.

The UN Security Council is set to vote Friday on a draft resolution, presented by the United States following negotiations with China, on new punitive measures restricting oil supplies to the North. — AFP

Runners in Santa Claus costumes pose as they take part in the Christmas charity event ‘Tokyo Santa Run’ at the Makuhari Seaside Park in Chiba. About 1,000 people attended the charity event to provide Christmas presents for children fighting disease. —...