Pyongyang warns of ‘stronger’ reaction following new US sanctions

Seoul, Jan 14 (EFE).- North Korea warned of “stronger and certain reaction” on Friday in response to the United States imposing new sanctions over Pyonyang’s weapons program following its latest missile tests.

Pyongyang’s “recent development of a new-type weapon” was part of its modernization of its “national defense capability,” and did not target a specific country, nor did it “do harm to the security of the neighbouring countries,” a spokesman for the foreign ministry said in a statement published by the official Korean Central News Agency.

North Korea claims it has been testing a hypersonic missile.

The administration of President Joe Biden on Wednesday imposed its first sanctions over North Korea’s weapons program following Pyongyang’s “six ballistic missile launches since September 2021, each of which violated multiple United Nations Security Council Resolutions.”

The US’ ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, has indicated that Washington is pressing for the UNSC to impose additional sanctions on North Korea.

“The US is intentionally escalating the situation even with the activation of independent sanctions, not content with referring the DPRK’s just activity to the UN Security Council,” the statement said, adding that its “accusation of the DPRK’s legitimate exercise of the right to self-defence is an evident provocation and a gangster-like logic.”

It added the US move “shows that though the present US administration is trumpeting about diplomacy and dialogue, it is still engrossed in its policy for isolating and stifling the DPRK.”

“If the US adopts such a confrontational stance, the DPRK will be forced to take stronger and certain reaction to it,” it warned.

North Korea has been testing a number of new weapons since nuclear talks with the US stalled after their failed Hanoi summit in February 2019. EFE

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