Local Korean civic groups and supporters rallied Saturday at the state Capitol to denounce the military actions and nuclear threats by North Korea, particularly by its young dictator, Kim Jong Un, and to express frustration, anger and shame.

About 200 gathered to hear speakers, march and chant.

"Stop war threats!" they cried. "Freedom in North Korea!"

"Stop nukes!"

Yong Schmidt, 64, of Aiea, said local Koreans feel shame when they hear North Korean threats.

"We are like same roots, deep down," she said. "He’s a young guy. He doesn’t even think about the North and South Korean people. More like a show-off type. He’s bad for the Korean people. That’s why we’re here today. We want to show people we’re doing this because we want peace."

Austin Kang, president of the United Korean Association of Hawaii, said: "We are strongly warning North Korea not to play with fire, not to trigger another war. We, as Korean-Americans living in the United States, are warning North Korea not to fire their missiles, threatening the peace of the world."

North Korea, which under Kim has proclaimed itself a "nuclear state," increased its threats against the United States and South Korea after the United Nations sanctioned the North for conducting a nuclear test.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was in Beijing on Saturday saying the United States would reduce its missile defenses in Asia if steps are taken to denuclearize the Korean Peninsula, a statement intended to elicit China’s help in persuading North Korea to abandon its nuclear weapons program, the reported.

The threat of nuclear missile strikes against Hawaii was particularly disturbing, said David Suh, rally organizer and spokesman for the United Korean Association of Hawaii.

"It first came to us as a shock," he said. "It is the first time they named Hawaii as a specific target."

In the past, North Korea’s threats were directed toward regional conflicts, he said.

"To my knowledge this is the first threat to the United States with nuclear weapons, especially Hawaii," Suh said.

Based on census figures, about 35,000 to 40,000 residents of Korean ancestry live in Hawaii, although estimates of 60,000 are more accurate, Suh said.

Park Bong Ryong, president of the Korea Freedom Federation, spoke to the group in Korean, but a woman read an English translation of Park’s scathing words directed against the North and its new leader.

"Your real motive is to startle everybody with your shriek, get attention, create a sense of crisis, then reap the benefits of blackmail," he said. "As Koreans living in America, we blush in shame. We were finally getting some respect when you come along and stage these grotesque antics, making Americans and peoples all over the world look at us askance."

Images and news reports show South Koreans continuing life as usual despite the North’s threats.

But a group of exchange students from South Korea who joined the rally said they are fearful for their friends and families back home.

Oh Ji-hye, 22, of Seosan, 60 miles southwest of Seoul, said, "My friends go to the military. They are afraid."