At a press conference held on the next day, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department of State revealed the U.S. scheme to table the "human rights issue" at the talks, saying that they "clearly referred to the human rights situation in the DPRK" in the recently-published "report on human rights practices" and that they never stepped back from the issue.

Meanwhile, the south Korean Ministry of Unification held a "consultative meeting on the policy of human rights in the north", at which discussion was made on a proposal for "promoting the human rights in the north" and the issue of setting up a "foundation for human rights in the north".

Commenting on the fact, leading newspapers of the DPRK Tuesday slam it as an unpardonable challenge and blatant infringement upon the dignity and sovereignty of the DPRK.

The U.S. gets hell-bent on putting pressure on the DPRK, raising the non-existent "human rights issue" ahead of the DPRK-U.S. dialogue, Rodong Sinmun says, adding:

This is a senseless act of disregarding elementary etiquette towards the dialogue partner.

For the U.S. to cling to the provocative anti-DPRK "human rights" racket is little short of turning the trend of dialogue and peace back to the phase of confrontation and tension and, this may spoil the last hard-won opportunity of solving the issue.

Minju Joson warns: The U.S. had better stop such foolish and futile deed as having its nose bitten off, well aware of who is its rival. The south Korean authorities, too, should behave themselves, properly facing up to the trend of the times.