North Korea has blasted U.S. Ambassador to Korea Mark Lippert for requesting South Korea to amend a bill on permitting foreign law firms to run joint ventures in the country.
  
The North’s propaganda Web site “Uriminjok-kkiri” said that Lippert made the “arrogant and rude” demand and intervened in South Korea’s parliamentary discussions to remove an obstacle for U.S. law firms to encroach on the South Korean legal market.
  
It also claimed that South Korean legal professionals and people criticized Lippert for crossing the line and infringing on South Korea’s sovereignty.
  
Previously, Lippert and three other ambassadors from countries that have free trade agreements with South Korea signed a request calling for a revision to the bill, saying that the current draft limits foreign law firms’ creation of joint ventures in South Korea. The U.S. ambassador visited the National Assembly to deliver the appeal on January 18.