North Korea issues misogynistic insults at US human rights envoy, calls her a 'political housemaid'

North Korea issued misogynistic insults on Wednesday towards the recently confirmed United States special envoy responsible for monitoring human rights issues in the country.

They also issued a warning of unspecified security consequences if the US continues to criticise North Korea’s human rights conditions, reported The Associated Press.

The Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) of North Korea published a statement in which they referred to Julie Turner, the newly appointed envoy, as a “wicked woman” chosen by the Biden administration to act as a “political housemaid.” They accused her of launching baseless attacks on North Korea’s human rights record.

Julie Turner’s appointment was confirmed by the US Senate on 27 July. She previously held the position of director of East Asia and the Pacific at the State Department.

North Korea’s statement asserted that the Biden administration’s public criticism of their human rights situation reflects hostility toward Pyongyang amidst an escalating nuclear standoff between the two countries. KCNA deemed Turner’s past critiques of North Korea’s human rights record as ridiculous and accused the US of interfering in the internal affairs of a sovereign state and spreading slander.

“Turner should know that she was chosen as a political housemaid and scapegoat for the ‘human rights’ plots to pressure the DPRK, a poor policy set forth by the Biden administration driven into a scrape in the DPRK-U.S. nuclear confrontation,” the agency said, using the initials of the North’s formal name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

The agency said the continued US criticism on North Korean human rights issues could “backfire on it, spawning severe security issues.”

In defiance of Washington last week, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un hosted senior delegates from Russia and China at a Pyongyang military parade that showcased his intercontinental ballistic missiles. Analysts say Kim is trying to boost the visibility of his partnerships with Moscow and Beijing as he looks to break away from diplomatic isolation and insert himself into a united front against the United States.

With inputs from agencies