'The height of egotism': North Korea blasts Donald Trump for pulling out of Paris climate agreement

Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump
Kim Jong-un and Donald Trump

North Korea has condemned US President Donald Trump for pulling out of the Paris climate agreement, describing the decision as "the height of egotism" and an example of the "moral vacuum" in the US leadership.

"Global warming is one of the gravest challenges that humankind is facing today", a Foreign Ministry spokesman told the state-run KCNA news agency on Tuesday.

"The 'America First Policy' advocated by Trump led to the withdrawal from the Paris Agreement", the official said. "This is the height of egotism and [a] moral vacuum seeking only their own well-being, even at the cost of the entire planet".

Impact on Paris Accord
Impact on Paris Accord

The official added that withdrawing from the agreement is "a short-sighted and silly decision, ignorant of the fact that protection of the global environment is in their own interests".

The US is one of only three countries that are not signatories to the climate pact, which Mr Trump has claimed hurts US industries.

Syria and Nicaragua have also yet to sign the agreement, although Nicaragua's reluctance is based on the government's belief that the commitments in the agreement do not go far enough.

Commentators and comedians alike have been swift to pick up on the fact that Mr Trump is withdrawing from an international agreement that even much-criticised nations like North Korea have readily agreed to.

At a glance | Paris climate change agreement
At a glance | Paris climate change agreement

The foreign ministry official linked Washington's withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement to similar "selfish acts" that have impacted the global community, such as its attitude towards the "nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula".

"It is high time the world stopped pondering over the dangerous ideological trend which is surfacing in the US with the emergence of the Trump administration, but raised [the] alarm and stayed highly vigilant", the official said.

"Whoever chooses to blindly follow the Trump administration, overpowered by its bravado, should be fully aware that the judgement of history shall take them all as one".

Paris Accord: Major stories
Paris Accord: Major stories