North Korea on Thursday condemned U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s recent criticism of China's leadership, describing it as an affront to its own socialist system and saying the U.S. was going “downhill” amid widespread protests. 

The statement from the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea (WPK) Central Committee (CC) International Department, printed on page two of Thursday’s edition of the domestically-circulated Rodong Sinmun, focused on a recent interview by Pompeo on the topic of China.