N. Korea state media denounces US over human rights criticism

North Korea’s state-run media on Friday denounced the United States for raising the issue of Pyongyang’s human rights record ahead of talks between the countries to resolve the nuclear standoff. The comments published on North Korea’s government-run Uriminzokkiri website came hours before US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo traveled to Pyongyang for talks aimed at hammering out details on denuclearizing the North. The website said Washington should stop provoking the North with an “anachronistic human rights racket” at a time of diplomatic attempts to improve ties, AP reported. Uriminzokkiri also cited a resolution by the US House of Representatives in June that called for the “complete, verifiable, and irreversible human rights improvements” to be part of US strategies for denuclearization.