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Reuters SEOUL - North Korea called U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney a "blood thirsty beast" on Thursday, in response to Cheney saying the North's leader Kim Jong-il was irresponsible and runs a police state.

"Cheney is hated as the most cruel monster and blood-thirsty beast, as he has drenched various parts of the world in blood," a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesman was quoted as saying by Pyongyang's official KCNA news agency.

Washington and North Korea have been in the midst of a war of words in recent weeks, with U.S. President Bush calling Kim Jong-il a tyrant. Pyongyang has shot back calling Bush half-baked and a philistine.

Cheney said in a TV interview with CNN aired on Monday that Kim was "one of the world's more irresponsible leaders."

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