This article was contributed to NK News by the DPRK’s Institute of American Studies under the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. While it has been edited for content and to conform with most aspects of NK News style, as little as possible has been changed.

The U.S. sanctions against the DPRK constitute anti-humanity and anti-civilization acts which threaten and trample the right to existence and development of the people of the DPRK and are a clear manifestation of the hostile policy towards the DPRK.

First, the sanctions imposed by the U.S. upon the DPRK pursue “regime collapse” of the DPRK and therefore, are illegal, provocative and aggressive in nature.

It is by nature a violent intervention in internal affairs and an illegal and brutal action that any country classifies the policies of other sovereign states as “legal” or “illegal” and imposes sanctions upon other countries according to the former’s domestic laws.

Article 5 of the “Declaration on Rights and Duties of States” (Draft) provides that “Every state has the right to equality in law with every other state”.

In a word, a sovereign state can by no means be the target of jurisdiction of other countries.

However, the U.S. is imposing unilateral sanctions upon the DPRK by applying dozens of its domestic laws, taking up an array of such groundless and preposterous pretext as “communist state”, non-market economy, threat to national security of the U.S., violation of human rights, money laundering, proliferation of WMD, etc.

The U.S. sanctions against the DPRK are of completely aggressive, provocative and ill-famed nature, because those are seeking “regime collapse” of the DPRK.

The current dozens of the U.S. sanctions laws against the DPRK are doubly or trebly intertwined, so that even if some sanctions are lifted, the sanctions, in general, are to continue to be in place.

The sanctions imposed by the U.S. upon the DPRK pursue “regime collapse”

In other words, the U.S. sanctions against the DPRK take aim not only at the self-defensive nuclear deterrent force of the DPRK but also at its ideology and system itself and therefore, unless the DPRK abandons its own ideology and system, these sanctions will forever threaten the right to existence and development of its people.

Let me take as an example the “North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act 2016” which has legalized comprehensive sanctions against the DPRK.

The core of this Act is to intensify the psychological warfare and the “human rights” offensive for disintegrating the DPRK from inside. In accordance with this Act, the U.S. has prohibited its domestic financial institutions from opening and maintaining bank accounts of the DPRK financial institutions and also prohibited the foreign financial institutions from dealing with the DPRK financial institutions by using bank accounts in the U.S.

In particular, the U.S. has dared to put on the “sanctions list” our supreme leadership which symbolizes the mightiness of the DPRK and enjoys the absolute support and confidence of our army and people. This brazen and impudent action itself clearly shows as to what the ultimate goal of the U.S. sanctions is.

Second, the sanctions imposed by the U.S. and the UN upon the DPRK are acts against humanity and civilization, because they are seriously violating the right to existence and development of the people in the DPRK.

As we have already stated several times, the “sanctions resolutions” adopted by the UN against the DPRK, which the U.S. claims to take as basis of its unilateral sanctions, are nothing but criminal documents devoid of any legality, morality and fairness, which is why the DPRK categorically and totally rejected all of them.

In particular, the U.S. has dared to put on the “sanctions list” our supreme leadership

Ironically, those criminal documents contain hypocritical articles indicating that these resolutions are not intended to have adverse humanitarian consequences for the civilian population of the DPRK.

The question is whether these sanctions do not really have adverse humanitarian consequences for the civilian population of the DPRK. The answer is “Yes. Absolutely they have”.

The “resolution 2270” and the “resolution 2321”, adopted by the UN Security Council in 2016, making an issue of the DPRK’s measures for bolstering its self-defensive nuclear deterrence, are literally full of poisonous paragraphs aimed at stifling the DPRK economically.

These “sanctions resolutions”, are, inter alia, putting limitations on DPRK’s export of coal, placing limitation or complete ban on DPRK’s export of gold, silver, copper, nickel, zinc and other major mineral resources.

They urge UN member states to conduct compulsory inspection of the cargoes to and from the DPRK, prohibiting in the territories of the member states the opening and operation of new branches, subsidiaries and representative offices of the DPRK banks, prohibiting financial institutions within the territories of the member states from establishing new joint ventures and from establishing or maintaining correspondent relationships with the DPRK banks and asking all member states to take necessary measures to close such existing branches, subsidiaries and representative offices and also to terminate such joint ventures, ownership interests and correspondent relationships with the DPRK banks within ninety days.

At a glance, all these paragraphs seem to prevent illegal actions of the DPRK for the “reason” that the DPRK is allegedly said to “pour huge amount of money into developing the WMD” by exporting its natural resources and transferring the profit through the international financial network.

However, these are based on the wicked and crafty calculations to illegalize the DPRK’s legitimate economic activities and block the flow of foreign currencies into the DPRK, thus completely isolating the DPRK from the international community and inducing its people to have grievances against their government policies by causing the artificial sufferings in their everyday life.

These are based on the wicked and crafty calculations to illegalize the DPRK’s legitimate economic activities

The actual reality is that, due to the heinous anti-DPRK sanctions of the U.S. and its vassal forces, even the import of basic necessities for civilian purposes such as frozen chicken, frequency stabilizers and voltage regulators, malaria mosquito repellent (Insecticide Residual Spray), ampoules of ephedrine, mobile X-ray units and reagent for diagnosis of tuberculosis, bikes for the children, hair driers, etc. are banned or questioned, as the import of those basic necessities are construed as violation of the UNSC “sanctions resolutions”.

On the other hand, the U.S. and its vassal forces politicize even the participation in international sports games by refusing to issue visas to our sportsmen and women, while attempting in every way to block the import of basic sports facilities such as archery equipment, bullets for games and ski equipment.

Implementing the “sanctions resolutions” is so rampant in some EU countries that inconceivable things are happening without hesitation in broad daylight; they ransack or cut by knives the packages of household belongings of the DPRK diplomatic passport holders who are returning home on recall and even impound the bikes, ski and other equipment and toys used by their children, in total disregard of the internationally recognized laws and regulations.

All these acts are extremely barbaric and chauvinistic ones which would not allow the people of the DPRK to receive basic medical treatment, have nutritious foods and enjoy sports or civilized life. These are anti-humanity and anti-civilization acts that insult and antagonize the people of the DPRK.

U.S. sanctions against the DPRK… are triggering ever stronger self-defensive countermeasures

Is this really the deeds that could be carried on by human beings, the “civilized persons” who are making jaw-jaw about “civilization”?

The ever-worsening sanctions of the U.S. and its vassal forces against the DPRK remind me of the medieval-type destruction of civilization committed by the Vandals who were notorious for plundering and destroying the cultural assets when occupying the European countries in around the 5th Century A.D.

Now when the rapidly developing science and technology are the powerful driving force for social and economic development, the U.S. and its vassal forces classify computers, semiconductors, LED TVs and other IT products as “luxury goods” to be prohibited from export to the DPRK; they also asked the UN member states to prevent scientific and technological training of the DPRK scientists and cooperation with the DPRK.

All these facts clearly show that the UNSC “sanctions resolutions” against the DPRK are the “resolutions to destroy the modern civilization”, “resolutions to obliterate the Korean nation”.

The U.S. sanctions against the DPRK are the vicious and hostile acts of anti-humanity and anti-civilization which are aimed at stifling the DPRK economically and destroying modern civilization.

The U.S. sanctions against the DPRK, the acts against humanity and civilization, seriously affect the situation in the Korean peninsula and the region around it.

First, the U.S. sanctions against the DPRK, equivalent to a complete blockade, are triggering ever stronger self-defensive countermeasures of the DPRK.

The DPRK’s measures to bolster its nuclear deterrent forces are self-defensive ones and the legitimate right to self-defense of a sovereign state to defend the national sovereignty and the right to existence of the nation in the face of ever-worsening hostile policy and nuclear threats of the U.S. against the DPRK.

The unprecedented U.S. sanctions against the DPRK had no effect at all upon the speedy development of the DPRK nuclear forces. On the contrary, the DPRK has soared up as the nuclear power in the East and the leading rocket power under the worst condition.

The more increased the intensity of the U.S. sanctions become, the stronger the indignation of our army and people at the U.S. will grow; and this will put the spur on the DPRK’s development of more powerful strategic weapons system which would wring more tightly the windpipes of the U.S.

It will be of benefit to the ruling circle of the U.S. to contemplate on the consequences to be brought by the so-called “high-intensity sanctions” against the DPRK which possesses the atomic and hydrogen bombs and the strongest ICBMs.

Second, the sovereignty and right to development of other countries are also seriously violated due to the U.S. sanctions against the DPRK.

Now, the U.S. makes much ado about the “high-intensity sanctions” at the news of the success in the test-fire of intercontinental ballistic rocket Hwasong-14, the legitimate and self-defensive measures of the DPRK and coerces all other countries to cut or downgrade the diplomatic relations with the DPRK by asking them either to be together with or against the U.S.

Unprecedented U.S. sanctions against the DPRK had no effect at all upon the speedy development of the DPRK nuclear forces

The U.S. state secretary said that the U.S. has made it clear to all countries including China and Russia that they should join in imposing “sanctions” on the DPRK and mentioned that if any country claims the total amount of its trade with the DPRK is only less than 5 million US$, the U.S. would ask the country to reduce it to 2 million US$.

It is an arrogant and impertinent act to ask other countries either to be with the U.S. or otherwise to face the consequences. This is also a wanton violation of the Declaration on Rights and Duties of States (Draft), the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and other relevant international laws and norms and a clear manifestation of infringement upon the sovereignty of other countries and interference in their internal affairs.

The diplomatic and economic relations between countries are established by their own independent decision and will, not by the “consent” or the “instruction” of the U.S. or the UN.

The U.S. is also making an issue of “labor conditions” of the DPRK laborers working in foreign countries, which means that the U.S. would take an issue of “human rights situation” of those countries receiving the DPRK laborers.

In particular, the U.S. is imposing “secondary sanctions” on companies, banks and individuals of neighboring countries of the DPRK by “charging” them with trading with the DPRK. All these acts clearly show that the U.S. sanctions against the DPRK not only target the DPRK but also pursue the purpose of interfering in domestic affairs of other countries and even depriving them of their right to development.

Those countries which join or acquiesce in the U.S. sanctions against the DPRK should bear in mind that their short-sighted thinking and actions are unwise ones which would injure themselves by their own hands.

Now, the sanctions imposed upon the DPRK by the U.S. and its vassal forces have reached so cruel and barbarous phase as to obliterate the right to existence and development of the DRPK and its people, destroy modern civilization and turn the whole world back into the dark medieval age.

It is really foolish to try to frighten the DPRK, the nuclear power in the East and the leading rocket power in Asia, with sanctions and the like.

The DPRK will neither put its nukes and ballistic missiles on the negotiating table in any case nor flinch even an inch from the road of bolstering its nuclear force unless the hostile policy and nuclear threat of the U.S. against the DPRK are thoroughly eradicated.

The U.S. and its vassal forces, seeking to obliterate the right to existence and development of the people of the DPRK, destroy world civilization and turn the whole world back into the dark medieval age should thoroughly consider the consequences to be brought by their reckless sanctions against the DPRK.