North Korea warns Israel to ‘think twice’ with ‘defamation campaign’

North Korea’s foreign ministry released a statement condemning Israel’s defense minister for calling the isolated country’s leader a “madman.”

North Korea issued a warning to Israel over the weekend in response to what it claims to be a “defamation campaign” against the isolated Asia-Pacific country that has recently conducted a number of missile tests in violation of UN Security Council resolutions.

“We warn Israel to think twice about the implications of its defamation campaign against us,” North Korea’s foreign ministry said in a statement. “Our consistent message is to mercilessly punish those who offend the dignity of our leadership.”

The North Korean Foreign Ministry was responding to remarks made by Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman in an interview with Walla News, in which he referred to North Korean leader Kim Jong-un as a “madman” working with an evil axis of powers comprising Iran, Syria and the Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah.

Liberman went on to stress that the rising tensions in the Korean peninsula are not a concern exclusively for neighboring countries of North Korea but for others around the world as well, telling Walla that “these people, are all aiming to destabilize the world,” and that “any nuclear crisis anywhere in the world will affect the whole world.”

“The reckless remarks of the Israeli defense minister are sordid and wicked behavior and a grave challenge to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” the North Korean statement added.

Liberman made his remarks after a senior IDF official said last week that increased tensions between the United States and North Korea could have negative repercussions for Israel’s security.

Over a month ago, Liberman argued that North Korea poses a greater threat to the international community than Iran.

By: Jonathan Benedek, World Israel News