North Korea media warns of Olympic withdrawal after Moon Jae-in speech

Getty Images

The Olympic rings is seen in Hoenggye town, near the venue for the Opening and Closing ceremony ahead of PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games in Pyeongchang-gun, South Korea.

Pyongyang could still pull out from the upcoming Winter Olympics, a North Korean media outlet threatened in response to recent “ill-boding” remarks by South Korean President Moon Jae-in.

Moon’s praise of President Donald Trump in a speech last Wednesday chilled the atmosphere for North-South reconciliation, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

“They should know that train and bus carrying our delegation to the Olympics are still in Pyongyang … The South Korean authorities had better ponder over what unfavorable results may be entailed by their impolite behavior,” KCNA said in an English report on its website Sunday.

In his speech, Moon said Trump deserved “big credit for bringing about the inter-Korean talks,” adding that the ongoing dialogue “could be a resulting work of the U.S.-led sanctions and pressure.”