SEOUL: North Korea slammed on Wednesday remarks by the top American military official in South Korea comparing his host nation to "the dagger in the heart of Asia", saying it reflected Washington's strategy to contain China.
General Xavier Brunson made the comments in an interview as speculation builds that Washington may seek to expand the US Forces Korea (USFK) role in countering China's regional influence.
About 28,500 US troops are stationed in South Korea to help guard against the nuclear-armed North.
The state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) published commentary by analyst Kim Myong Chol who said Brunson's remarks showed the US as "the chieftain of harassing peace and the world's worst war empire".
The comments reflected how Washington intended to use South Korea "as an important geopolitical instrument to realise its regional strategy aimed at containing China," said Kim, who is based in Japan and considered an unofficial overseas spokesman for North Korea.
China has for decades been Pyongyang's main trading partner and a key source of diplomatic and economic backing.
Seoul's presidential office said at the weekend that it was aware of Brunson's remarks and has been "maintaining communication at various levels regarding all relevant issues".
Local media outlets including News1 and JTBC reported that Seoul has raised concerns with the United States.
USFK commander Brunson said in the interview, "When (the Chinese) look out from the east coast of China, what they see is there's Korea, the dagger in the heart of Asia."
Brunson also compared Japan to a "shield that's sort of a backstop" against China's regional ambitions, according to a transcript posted by the Strategic Studies Institute of the US Army War College.
Beijing's embassy in Seoul last week condemned the remarks as having "truly crossed the line" and "rife with hostility and aggression toward China", asking whether they were authorised by Washington.