I would like to point out that Frank Evans — in his Feb. 3 Have Your Say letter, "Whiners disprove stereotype" — is wrong. New Zealand has a prime minister not a president. We are not a republic; New Zealand is a constitutional monarchy. We still like the British monarchy.
This was an arrogant remark from an American who doesn't know his world politics. Not all countries have presidents and one should never assume that the head of state is a president. New Zealand's head of state is in fact the queen (of New Zealand, England, Australia, etc.), who is represented in New Zealand by the governor general. Japan is also a constitutional monarchy with a prime minister.
And, yes, people would bat an eyelid if New Zealand called North Korea "evil."