In response, the head of the Commission, Jacques Santer, sent a strongly worded letter to persson's home address in Stockholm scolding the Prime Minister for spreading bad publicity.
Investors are also on the look-out for a strongly worded editorial in the People's Daily or the Xinhua News Agency that warns against putting more money into the stock market.
In a strongly worded newspaper article, four European foreign ministers said the European Union would not "stand indifferent to gross violation of [its] values."
The South's defense minister, Kim Kwan-jin, said last week the North is increasingly likely to launch a surprise provocation, following a series of strongly worded threats.