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PYONGYANG. – The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) yesterday lashed out at the US government, accusing it of using DPRK defectors to assault DPRK’s political and social systems at the ongoing Winter Olympics in PyeongChang, South Korea.

The official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said in a commentary that the administration of US President Donald Trump has become “extremely embarrassed by the atmosphere for inter-Korean reconciliation” as shown by the Olympics.

It blamed US media such as the CNN and CBS for unduly speculating on the possibility of members of the DPRK sports delegation defecting to South Korea during the Winter Games. In a report dated February 9, the day on which the PyeongChang Games unveiled, the CNN said: “While unlikely, it isn’t impossible for a member of North Korea’s PyeongChang delegation to defect as the world watches the Games,” referring to the DPRK by another name.

The KCNA commentary said the US government “went vicious to shake the pure minds of our people” and was ignorant of the Korean people’s “strong desire for improved north-south ties and reunification.” In what appeared to be a show of willingness for reconciliation, the DPRK dispatched a highest level delegation ever to South Korea to attend the opening ceremony of the Olympics.

Members of the delegation included Kim Yong Nam, president of the Presidium of the DPRK Supreme People’s Assembly and the nominal head of state, as well as Kim Yo Jong, the younger sister of top DPRK leader Kim Jung Un- Xinhua.