North Korea’s propaganda mouthpiece, the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), has published a government statement accusing officials with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security of “literally mugging” unnamed North Korean officials in New York.
The incident allegedly occurred on June 16. KCNA claims the North Korean delegation “was on its way home after attending the Conference of States Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities” when it was “literally mugged” by authorities in “an illegal and heinous act of provocation”:
At the airport, a group of more than 20 including those who claimed to be from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the police officers made a violent assault like gangsters to take away the diplomatic package from the DPRK diplomats who were in possession of a valid diplomatic courier certificate.
“The U.S. should reflect on its reckless act and be fully aware of the grave consequences to follow,” the article warns, calling the United States “a felonious and lawless gangster state.”
The Department of Homeland Security responded to the accusations in a statement, noting that the individuals in question were not officials with the North Korean government and did not enjoy diplomatic immunity, nor was the package in question related to any official diplomatic work.
“According to the US State Department, the North Korean citizens were not accredited members of North Korea’s Mission to the UN and had no entitlement to diplomatic immunity. The package in question had no diplomatic protection from inspection,” they explained, according to CNN. “DHS seized multiple media items and packages from the individuals, at which time the North Koreans attempted to physically retrieve the items but were prevented from doing so by DHS officers. The reported aggression was initiated by the North Koreans.”
Neither side has provided details regarding the package confiscated from the North Korean nationals or identified the individuals. The bizarre incident reportedly occurred last week following multiple notable news reports on the bilateral relationship between the repressive communist state and the United States.
Last week, North Korea released a U.S. citizen, Otto Warmbier, who had been sentenced to 15 years of hard labor for touching a communist propaganda poster while visiting the country.
Warmbier had reportedly been in a coma for over a year, following suspected physical abuse by North Korean officials. American officials had privately negotiated his release on humanitarian grounds, and Warmbier died just days after arriving in the U.S., according to a statement released by his family.
North Korea still retains three American citizens arrested for alleged anti-communist activities, academics Tony Kim and Kim Hak-song, who both worked in the prestigious Pyongyang Science and Technology University, and businessman Kim Dong-chul.
In an incident all parties have publicly agreed was not related, basketball celebrity Dennis Rodman made headlines last week by traveling to Pyongyang for the fifth time on a visit paid for by digital cannabis currency PotCoin.com. Rodman reportedly brought dictator Kim Jong-un a number of gifts, including a copy of President Donald Trump’s book The Art of the Deal, before leaving “a really good trip.” The purpose of his visit remains unclear, though Rodman has previously touted his belief in “basketball diplomacy” to bring the two countries together.
North Korea routinely threatens nuclear attacks on America’s largest cities.
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