North Korea says relations with the US have now shifted into despair – KCNA

North Korea says relations with the US have now shifted into despair, according to the  state news agency KCNA.

North Korea says that the US is hell-bent on exacerbating tensions and that the US policy proves that the US remains a long term threat to our people.

Market implications

These statements come after the US State Department said it was disappointed at North Korea for suspending communication hotlines with South Korea on Tuesday.

North Korea earlier said that the United States has no standing to comment on inter-Korean affairs, and it is in Washington’s interest to stay quiet if it wants the upcoming presidential election to go smoothly, state media reported.

“If the US pokes its nose into others’ affairs with careless remarks, far from minding its internal affairs, at a time when its political situation is in the worst-ever confusion, it may encounter an unpleasant thing hard to deal with,” Kwon Jong Gun, director-general for US affairs at North Korea’s Foreign Ministry, said in comments carried by state news agency KCNA.

NK is coming back to the fore as a risk for markets and the yen is one to watch as the tensions increase.