A lengthy and unusually wrathful statement from a senior North Korean official targeted Shinzo Abe, the Japanese Prime Minister, on Thursday, calling him an "idiot and villain," a "poor dog and a dwarf," and an "under-wit" politician who does not understand basic military affairs.

The printed diatribe, published in Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) and attributed to Song Il Ho, the country's top Japan envoy, followed Abe's recent suggestion to a group of world leaders that a DPRK weapons test last week had violated UN sanctions.