North Korea's ambassador in South Africa hurled a menacing remark at his South Korean counterpart earlier this month in anger over Seoul's push to censure the communist regime for the attack on
a South Korean warship, a diplomatic source said Wednesday.
The June 11 encounter between the two envoys took place in a bathroom during the opening ceremony of the World Cup football finals at Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg, after South Africa invited foreign ambassadors to football's premier event, according to the source.
"If (the South) keeps acting like this, we won't just let things pass, either," the North's ambassador, An Hui-jong, told South Korea's Ambassador Kim Han-soo while holding Kim by the arm after following him into the bathroom, according to the source who requested anonymity.
The North's envoy "spoke in a threatening way," the source said.
The remark was seen as an expression of anger over South Korea's diplomacy campaign to get countries around the world to condemn North Korea
for the deadly sinking, which killed 46 sailors. Nearly 60 countries have so far denounced Pyongyang for the torpedo attack.
North Korea has issued harsh rhetoric against Seoul's efforts, claiming that the country has nothing to do with the incident and accusing Seoul of fabricating the case for political gains.
After a multinational investigation determined that the North was behind the attack, South Korea has taken a series of punitive steps, such as
cutting off trade with the impoverished neighbor and bringing the case to the U.N. Security Council for international condemnation.
Pyongyang has threatened an "all-out war" if it is censured or sanctioned at the U.N.
The two Koreas are still technically at war after the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a cease-fire, not a peace treaty.