North Korea: US extension of sanctions 鈥榓 hostile act鈥�

US President Donald Trump, right, walks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un during a break in their talks in Hanoi on February 28, 2019. (AFP)
  • The White House extended six executive orders containing sanctions imposed over North Korea鈥檚 nuclear and missile programs by one year

SEOUL: The recent US extension of sanctions against North Korea was an act of hostility and an outright challenge to a historic summit between the two countries in Singapore last year, a spokesman for Pyongyang鈥檚 foreign ministry said on Wednesday.
The White House last week extended six executive orders containing sanctions imposed over North Korea鈥檚 nuclear and missile programs by one year.
The unidentified North Korean foreign ministry spokesman denounced US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo鈥檚 remarks on Sunday that more than 80 percent of the North Korean economy has been affected by sanctions.
The spokesman also accused Washington of 鈥渧iciously slandering鈥� Pyongyang in its latest reports on human trafficking and religious freedom around the world.
鈥淭his is ... a manifestation of the most extreme hostile acts by the United States,鈥� the spokesman said in a statement carried by the North鈥檚 official KCNA news agency.
鈥淎ll these speak clearly to the fact that the wild dream of the United States to bring us to our knees by means of sanctions and pressure has not changed at all but grows even more undisguised,鈥� he added.
US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un held their first, groundbreaking summit in Singapore in June last year, agreeing to foster new relations and work toward the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula.
But a second summit in Vietnam in February collapsed as both sides failed to bridge differences between US calls for denuclearization and North Korean demands for sanctions relief.
Since then, North Korea has complained of US sanctions and demanded Pompeo be replaced by someone 鈥渕ore mature,鈥� while lauding the rapport Kim built with Trump.
Pompeo, speaking to reporters on Sunday, raised hopes for a revival of nuclear talks after a recent exchange of letters between Trump and Kim.
The North Korean spokesman warned it would be difficult to achieve denuclearization as long as US politics are dominated by policymakers who have an 鈥渋nveterate antagonism鈥� toward North Korea.
鈥淲e would not thirst for a lifting of sanctions,鈥� the spokesman said.
鈥淥ur state is not a country that will surrender to the US sanctions, nor are we a country which the US could attack whenever it desires to do so,鈥� he added.