Ban Ki-moon, minister of foreign affairs and trade, Wednesday tried to dodge criticism by a top U.S. lawmaker who accused Seoul of taking an apologetic attitude toward communist North Korea.
The comments came after Henry Hyde, chairman of the House International Relations Committee, sent a letter to the top U.S. envoy in Seoul Tuesday supporting his stern stance on North Korea.

Earlier this month, U.S. Ambassador Alexander Vershbow dubbed North Korea a “criminal regime,” accusing it of involvement in large-scale counterfeiting and drug-trafficking.

At the time, Ban expressed regret, saying that countries participating in the six-nation talks on North Korea’s nuclear programs should refrain from “using expressions unfavorable to dialogue partners.”

But in the letter, Hyde applauded the U.S. ambassador for his straight-forward remarks and appeared to criticize Seoul for siding with the North.

“Those who would make apologies for such a regime are no friends of America or her people,” Hyde said in the letter.

Ban responded with caution to the veiled criticism. “I don’t know what he meant by saying that,” he told reporters.

“What I said was that in the process of the six-nation talks, wisdom is required of participating countries and to hold back sensitive comments that could upset negotiation partners,” Ban said.

saltwall@koreatimes.co.kr