North Korea blasts Macron over NATO comments, calls them “shocking claptrap”

North Korean state media on June 5 strongly criticised French President Emmanuel Macron for his recent remarks regarding Pyongyang’s relationship with Moscow, describing them as “shocking claptrap” and “imprudent.”

The statement, published in a commentary by analyst Choe Ju Hyun via the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), responded to comments Macron made during the recent Shangri-La Dialogue in Singapore, Caliber.Az reports via foreign media.

During the security forum, the French president suggested that NATO could expand its role in Asia if China failed to pressure North Korea to stop supporting Russia’s war effort in Ukraine.

“It is a mistake if Macron thinks that he can cloak NATO’s aggressive and wicked intention to put dirty military shoes on the Asia-Pacific region by taking issue with the DPRK-Russia cooperative relations,” Choe said, referring to North Korea by its official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

Choe also accused Macron of being “publicly recognised as a politician who loves to demonstrate his existence by making a series of shocking claptrap and unrealistic assertions unmindful of consequences.”

“France is obsessed with extreme self-assurance and is unable to properly judge the situation,” he added.

The commentary further urged France to “realise as early as possible that its contradictory behaviour keeps it from being recognised as a representative of Europe.”

North Korea has emerged as a key ally of Russia during the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, with Pyongyang reportedly sending thousands of troops to aid Russian efforts in the border region of Kursk.

By Sabina Mammadli