North Korea slams Seoul's remarks on human rights

North Korea this morning slammed remarks by Seoul earlier this month about the communist country's human rights record and said its southern neighbour was driving relations to their worst crisis.

The rhetoric comes after US President George W. Bush and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak met on August 6 and urged Pyongyang to improve its human rights record.

North Korea's Rodong Sinmun said in its commentary today that the remarks were a revelation of President Lee's ambition to tarnish its image and incite inter-Korean confrontation.

"The inter-Korean relations are facing their worst crisis because of Lee administration's hostile policy... Despite worsening situations, Lee continues to seek further confrontation and stifle the DPRK with outside forces," it said.

Ties between the North and the South have been frayed since the conservative Mr Lee took office in February vowing to get tough with Pyongyang and tying what once had been a free flow of aid to action the North takes to get rid of its nuclear arms programmes.

The prickly and impoverished North said South Korea and US military drills, which were implemented last week, spoiled the atmosphere for nuclear disarmament talks and Pyongyang would "bolster its war deterrent" in response.