US Calls NKorea a "Criminal State"

WASHINGTON -- The United States is calling North Korea a "criminal state" and says the North is trying to steal South Korean TV signals of World Cup soccer matches.

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters Tuesday that North Korea could have a normal, lawful relationship with its neighbors. But he says instead it chooses to "try to steal or pirate a World Cup signal" for the matches in South Africa.

The South Korean company that owns broadcast rights for the Korean peninsula has questioned how North Korea secured the footage.

But Asia's broadcasting union says it is providing North Korea with free live coverage of matches.

Crowley says that North Korea is trying "to steal itself forward rather than trying to do so through legal means."