North Korea has lashed out at recent sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council, accusing the body of trying to “physically exterminate” the country and its governing dictatorship.
In a statement, a spokesperson for the DPRK described the latest sanctions as “the most vicious, unethical and inhumane act of hostility to physically exterminate the people of the DPRK, let alone its system and government.”
The latest sanctions come after North Korea claimed to have successfully conducted its sixth test of an immensely powerful hydrogen bomb, as well as launching a missile over Japan.
Both events led the U.N. Security Council to impose further sanctions on the country’s oil imports, textile exports, and the use of foreign laborers abroad. These sanctions followed sanctions placed in August on the regime’s coal, lead, iron, and seafood exports, which represent a third of the regime’s total exports.
Meanwhile, on Sunday President Donald Trump and South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreed to intensify economic and diplomatic pressure against North Korea over its repeated nuclear and missile tests.
“President Trump and President Moon committed to continuing to take steps to strengthen deterrence and defense capabilities, and to maximize economic and diplomatic pressure on North Korea,” the White House said in a statement.
In response to the escalating North Korea crisis, Trump has also considered increasing pressure on China, even threatening to cut off all trade with countries that deal with North Korea.
“The United States is considering, in addition to other options, stopping all trade with any country doing business with North Korea,” Trump wrote on Twitter:
Although North Korea trades with multiple nations including Russia and India, the claim was interpreted as a veiled threat against China, whose economy heavily relies on trade with the United States.
China has since hit back against the threat, claiming they are making “arduous efforts to peacefully resolve” the North Korea issue.
On Sunday, the U.S.’s ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley said the United States would soon consider a military response if North Korea continued to threaten the United States.
“If North Korea keeps on with this reckless behavior if the United States has to defend itself or defend its allies in any way, North Korea will be destroyed,” Haley told CNN. “We are trying every other possibility that we have, but there is a whole lot of military options on the table.”
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