Calls UN sanctions ‘suffocating’

North Korea remained defiant over new UN sanctions imposed for its latest nuclear test, vowing on Wednesday to redouble efforts to fight off what it said was the threat of a U.S. invasion.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday’s sanctions, unanimously agreed on Monday by the 15-member UN Security Council, were just a small step towards what is ultimately needed to rein in Pyongyang over its weapons programmes.

Legitimate right

The North’s Foreign Ministry said the resolutions were an infringement on its legitimate right to self defence and aimed at “completely suffocating its state and people through full-scale economic blockade”.

“The DPRK will redouble the efforts to increase its strength to safeguard the country’s sovereignty and right to existence and to preserve peace and security of the region by establishing the practical equilibrium with the U.S.,” it said in a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency.

The statement echoed comments on Tuesday by the North’s Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Han Tae Song, who said Pyongyang was “ready to use a form of ultimate means”. The North’s Rodong Sinmun also accused South Korea of being Washington’s “puppet” on Wednesday, criticising Seoul’s agreement with the United States to amend an existing bilateral guideline that will now allow the South to use unlimited warhead payloads on its missiles.