N. Korea blasts U.S. for not working harder to free Korean hostages in Afghanistan

North Korea which kept silent about the matter of Korean hostages in Afghanistan broke silence by way of accusing US for doing nothing to solve this matter.


https://www.koreaherald.co.kr/archives/result_contents.asp?id=200708150086&query=taliban

North Korea blasted the United States Wednesday for "sitting idle" and turning a blind eye to the protracted captivity of 19 South Korean hostages by Taliban insurgents in Afghanistan.

"The U.S. is coolly turning aside from the case, while repeatedly calling for not making compromise with terrorism," said the English-language commentary carried by the North's Korean Central News Agency.

The North Korean newspaper blamed the U.S. war on terrorism for the hostage-taking unfolding in the South Asian Islamic country.

"Such tragic case would not have occurred if the U.S. had not launched the brigandish
war on terrorism in Afghanistan and introduced South Korea there to meet its own
interests," it said.

Considering their past history of transacting with terrorists countries, their claim is held askant by many South Koreans. This comment is interesting because it came from the country once labeled as an "Axis of Evil" by president George Bush.