North Korea warns US of 'grave mistake' over sanctions

According to RIA Novosti, North Korean state news agency KCNA reported on October 20 that North Korean Foreign Minister Choe Song Hui strongly condemned the efforts of the US and its allies to restore the sanctions structure against North Korea, saying that countries involved in the "inhumane" sanctions will have to "pay a heavy price" for such "fatal miscalculation".

It was previously reported that South Korea, Japan, and the United States have established the Multilateral Sanctions Monitoring Group (MSMT) to enforce United Nations Security Council resolutions related to North Korea.

“Countries involved in the illegal and inhumane sanctions against North Korea will pay a heavy price,” Foreign Minister Choi Song Hui said.

Ms. Choi noted that the MSMT, the organization that replaced the UN Group of Experts, is “an illegal organization” and its very existence is considered “a denial of the UN Charter.”

“Contrary to the widely accepted principles of international law, based on sovereign equality and non-interference in internal affairs, the US and its allies are trying to restore the structure of sanctions and pressure on the DPRK,” the North Korean foreign minister said.

The emergence of a new “hostile and threatening element” would require countermeasures to prevent it, and every misstep would require an appropriate response and cost, Ms. Choi added.

“I express deep concern and regret over the habit of sanctions by the United States, which pursues only its hegemonic interests and is trying to arbitrarily change the international order; at the same time, I strongly condemn and reject this as a challenge to international justice and the most blatant violation of the sovereignty of the DPRK,” Choi Sun Hee stressed.

Foreign Minister Choi noted that sanctions against North Korea “are not a new experiment.” But the unilateral actions of the United States, which has lost “sobriety and sense of reality,” as well as some countries that have followed suit, have become “a threatening factor, shaking the foundation of international relations and blatantly violating the global security environment, which could bring about serious consequences.”

According to Ms. Choi, if the US thinks that it can threaten North Korea and stop Pyongyang's progress with sanctions and pressure that are already useless, this is a "fatal miscalculation."

In addition, Ms. Choi also said that North Korea will take note of not only “the instigators of illegal and inhumane sanctions” against North Korea - the United States and South Korea, but also “active accomplices” - Japan, Canada, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, and New Zealand, will remember all their hostile actions, “without exception.”