N. Korean News Calls Obama A 'Nuclear War Lunatic;' Criticizes Hiroshima Visit
SEOUL, South Korea (CBSNewYork/AP) — North Korea's official news agency is criticizing U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Hiroshima on Friday.
The Korean Central News Agency published a commentary Thursday calling the visit a "childish political calculation" aimed at hiding Obama's identity as a "nuclear war lunatic" determined to modernize the U.S. nuclear arsenal.
The commentary also accused Japan of trying to use the visit to masquerade as a victim and cover up its atrocities during World War II.
Obama is currently in Japan attending the annual G-7 summit alongside other world leaders. The summit brings together the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States.
During the talks, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe compared the current global economic situation to conditions just before the 2008 financial crisis. A G-7 summit held in northern Japan paid little attention to the trouble that was brewing, he said.
"We learned a lesson that we failed to respond properly because we did not have a firm recognition of the risks," Abe told reporters. "This time, we had a thorough discussion and recognized the major risks facing the global economy."
Japanese officials also highlighted joint efforts on corruption, terrorism, global health and migration — which has become a huge headache especially for European nations — as other top priorities.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said she didn't expect any concrete offers in the final communique from other G-7 members to take in refugees. She did say, however, that she had a bilateral meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and told him how much she appreciates the large number of refugees his country is taking in.
"One has to consider that Canada isn't right next to Syria and yet it still feels responsible for the problems there," she said.
Earlier, Donald Tusk, president of the European Council, said "Those who criticize us should rather think how to increase their assistance because what Europe provides is already massive. And honestly speaking, if they (the G-7) don't take the lead in managing this crisis, nobody else will. I will appeal to G-7 leaders to take up this challenge."
He said the EU is seeking more support for refugees and creation of resettlement schemes and other forms of legal migration around the world.
A possible exit from the European Union by Britain, depending on a June 23 vote, is also hanging over the talks.
After the summit ends on Friday afternoon Obama, plans to visit the peace park in Hiroshima, becoming the first sitting U.S. president to visit the city on which the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb in 1945 in the closing days of World War II.
Obama is to become the first sitting U.S. president to visit the western Japanese city where U.S. forces dropped an atomic bomb in 1945. He has called for a world without nuclear weapons, and criticized North Korea's development of both nuclear and missile technology.
(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
