Story highlights Sanctions over human rights abuses spur North Korean move

The U.N. mission in New York was the main communication conduit

(CNN) North Korea said Monday it has decided to close its only direct diplomatic link with Washington, a move made days after the United States slapped sanctions on the country's leader, Kim Jong Un, and other officials over human rights abuses.

Pyongyang and Washington do not have formal diplomatic relations, but North Korea's mission to the United Nations in New York has acted as the main communication conduit between the two countries.

Now it will deal with "DPRK-US relations under the wartime law of the DPRK," according to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), North Korea's state-run news agency.

The U.S. sanctions announced last week marked the first time Washington sanctioned Kim personally. Administration officials said Kim was "ultimately responsible" for what they called "North Korea's notorious abuses of human rights."

Pyongyang is already subject to heavy U.S. sanctions for its past nuclear and missile activity. But Wednesday's action marked the first time regime officials had been sanctioned for human rights abuses

Read More