North Korea says Bush is 'politically backward'

The North Korean government has described US President George W Bush has a 'politically backward child' and accused him of slandering the country’s communist system and its president, Kim Jong Il.

The comments from the North Korean Foreign Ministry come after Mr Bush accused North Korea, along with Iran and Iraq, of being part of an 'axis of evil'.

A spokesman for the North Korean authorities rejected Mr Bush’s call for renewed talks with the US, saying such a dialogue would be used 'to find a pretext for invasion'.

The spokesman also accused Mr Bush of violating North Korea’s sovereignty, interfering in its internal affairs and trying to 'drive a wedge' between the government and its people.

Speaking in South Korea on Wednesday, Mr Bush reiterated a proposal to resume talks with North Korea to resolve concern over the country’s weapons of mass destruction, ballistic missiles and mass deployments of troops along the border with South Korea.

However, the US President also described Kim Jong Il as a despot who spends millions on developing nuclear, chemical and biological weapons while his people starve.

The North Korean spokesman called Mr Bush’s remarks 'an insult to the national feelings of the Korean people'.

He said North Korea’s hunger and weapons development programmes are a result of America’s 'hostile policy' and economic blockade.