North Korea has called Vice President Dick Cheney a "bloodthirsty beast" and said his comments describing ruler Kim Jong-il as "irresponsible" could keep Pyongyang away from future nuclear negotiations.
North Korea's official KCNA news agency quoted a Foreign Ministry spokesman Thursday as saying the U.S. vice president is a hated, cruel monster who drenched various parts of the world in blood.
White House spokesman Scott McCellan says such provocative statements only further isolate the country from the international community.
In an interview Sunday on the U.S. Cable News Network, Mr. Cheney called President Kim one of the world's most irresponsible leaders, who runs a police state and has one of the most heavily militarized societies in the world.
The United States has been seeking diplomatic pressure to get the North to return to six party talks.
Some information for this report provided by AP.