SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — In its latest personal attack on a prominent official from a rival country, North Korea on Wednesday called U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry a wolf with a "hideous lantern jaw." 
 
 FILE - In this Monday, Aug. 11, 2014 file photo, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry points a finger as he arrives in Sydney. In its latest personal attack on a prominent official, North Korea has called... (Associated Press) 
 
 North Korea has unleashed a slew of crude insults against leaders in Washington and Seoul this year, calling President Barack Obama a monkey and South Korean President Park Geun-hye a prostitute. 
 
 Wednesday's slur against Kerry appeared only in a Korean-language dispatch, suggesting it was meant to rally anti-U.S. sentiment and burnish the leadership's image domestically at a time when Washington and Seoul are conducting annual military drills that Pyongyang calls an invasion rehearsal. 
 
 An unidentified policy department spokesman at the North Korean defense commission, led by leader Kim Jong Un, described Kerry as a "wolf donning the mask of sheep." 
 
 The spokesman criticized Kerry for recently saying Washington wants to see peace on the Korean Peninsula although the U.S. and South Korea then went ahead with their summertime drills that North Korea has demanded be scrapped. The U.S. and South Korea say the drills are defensive in nature. 
 
 The North Korean spokesman also criticized Kerry's comments on North Korea's human rights record and weapons programs. 
 
 "His behavior fully revealed once again the U.S. inveterate nature as a hypocrite who has deceived and mocked mankind with all sorts of gimmicks," the spokesman said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency. 
 
 South Korean and U.S. officials often criticize the North's invectives but stop short of similar rhetoric against North Korean leaders. But conservative activists in South Korea frequently use images depicting North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as a pig in anti-Pyongyang rallies. 
 
 Tension on the Korean Peninsula remains high as North Korea has conducted an unusually large number of missile and artillery test firings this year. 

 
 
 U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on July 29 in Washington, D.C. (Win McNamee/Getty Images) 
 
 North Korea has never been known to mince words. 
 
 First among the recent targets was President Obama, who the nation derided earlier this year in in a racist screed. Calling Obama a “clown,” a “dirty fellow” and a “crossbreed with unclear blood,” the Korean Central News Agency said it “would be perfect for Obama to live with a group of monkeys in the world’s largest African natural zoo and lick the breadcrumbs thrown by spectators.” 
 
 It also targeted South Korean President Park Geun-hye, who it called an “old prostitute.” Then this for a United Nations official: “disgusting old leacher.” 
 
 Now it’s John Kerry’s turn. On Wednesday morning, according to the Associated Press, the Korean Central News Agency laid into the U.S. Secretary of State, ridiculing his “hideous lantern jaw.” 
 
 But that’s not all. To North Korea, Kerry is a “wolf donning the mask of sheep. … His behavior fully revealed once again, the US inveterate nature as hypocrite who has deceived and mocked mankind with all sorts of gimmicks,” a North Korean spokesman said in the Korean-language statement. 
 
 North Korea said it was beefing with Kerry because he recently said the United States wants peace between the warring countries — and then proceeded with annual military drills the country holds with South Korea. 
 
 Still, a lantern jaw? It’s an unusual analogy to draw, but, hey, props for creativity, North Korea.
– North Korea is upset with America for staging an "invasion rehearsal" (read: military drills) with South Korea, so naturally it gracefully and diplomatically ... No. It diplomatically did nothing. Instead, Pyongyang opted for playground antics, blasting Secretary of State John Kerry as a "wolf donning the mask of sheep" with a "hideous lantern jaw," the AP reports. This follows similar insults against "dirty fellow" President Obama and South Korean president and "old prostitute" Park Geun-hye. Kerry's criticism of the North's human rights record might have attracted Pyongyang's ire. Either way, "hey, props for creativity, North Korea," writes Terrence McCoy at the Washington Post.