North Korea's state-run media has bashed Foreign Minister Taro Kono after he said during a recent meeting with the United States' top North Korea envoy that it is too early to adopt a declaration ending the Korean War, and that concrete steps toward denuclearization should come first.
The official Korean Central News Agency said late Saturday in a commentary that Kono's remarks were "nothing but a cry of distress of those being isolated" and that they highlighted "Japan's wicked intention ... to poke its nose into the regional issue by inciting the atmosphere of confrontation."
"The trend of the times is going toward dialogue and peace, and no one can deny and go against it," the commentary went on.