May 8
SEOUL — In a recently published and lengthy racist screed, North Korea calls President Obama a “clown,” a “dirty fellow” and somebody who “does not even have the basic appearances of a human being.”
Propriety has never been a part of North Korean rhetoric, but rarely has Pyongyang so ferociously — and personally — attacked a U.S. leader, in this case pulling language right out of the American 1850s. The attack seems unabashed, except for one thing: Unlike most articles published by the North’s state-run news agency, this one wasn’t translated into English.
“He is a crossbreed with unclear blood,” the North says.
And later: Obama “still has the figure of monkey while the human race has evolved through millions of years.”
“It would be perfect for Obama to live with a group of monkeys in the world’s largest African natural zoo and lick the bread crumbs thrown by spectators.”
The diatribe, published May 2 by the Korean Central News Agency, almost escaped foreign attention. But Josh Stanton, who blogs regularly about the North’s viciousness and rights violations, uncovered the Korean-only piece, as well as a separate, milder article that was translated into English and in which Obama was called a “wicked black monkey.”
The Korean-only piece (headlined, “Divine retribution for the juvenile delinquent Obama!”) featured four lengthy passages, each attributed to a regular citizen. In the North, quotations of citizens are state-sanctioned and often spoon-fed by the government’s propaganda department, analysts say.
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