North Korea Warns More Sanctions Will Only Accelerate its Completion of a Nuclear Force

By Tyler Durden  /  ZeroHedge

In the ongoing game of escalating verbal ping-pong, North Korea responded on Monday to the latest condemnation by the UN Security Council which responded to Pyongyang Friday missile launch with a harsly worded verbal rebuke, and warned that the more sanctions pursued by the US and its allies, “will only increase our pace towards the ultimate completion of the state nuclear force,” KCNA reported, citing ministry of foreign affairs.

The latest sanctions represent “the most vicious, unethical and inhumane act of hostility to physically exterminate the people of the DPRK, let alone its system and government,” a foreign ministry spokesman said, as cited by Reuters.

The North Korean statement also said that “it is a foolish dream to hope that the sanctions could work with the DPRK while the sanctions have failed to stop it from becoming a full-fledged nuclear weapons state and making rapid progress in the building of an economic power for more than half a century.”

In other words, not only will North Korea not stop launching missiles, but it demands to be accepted as an equal member of the global nuclear club, something Trump has vowed previously he would never do.

The most recent UN sanctions include capping crude oil supplies to North Korea at present levels and reductions in other commodities. They also include banning textile imports. The sanctions were enacted after North Korea launched its sixth and most powerful nuclear test earlier this month. Several days later, North Korea launched another ballistic missile which just like the missile launched at the end of August, flew above Japan.

On Sunday, Trump poked fun at North Korean leader Kim Jong-un on Sunday, calling him “Rocket Man” and stating that long gas lines had formed in North Korea as a result of the sanctions. Meanwhile, as Trump tweets harsh messages to Kim, Moscow and Beijing have warned all parties to avoid unnecessary escalation.

On Monday, the head of Russia’s upper house Committee for International Relations said that Moscow cannot allow the US or any country to provoke North Korea into a military conflict, as that could mean the use of weapons of mass destruction near the country’s borders. Instead, Russia and China have proposed a ‘double-freeze’ plan which would see Pyongyang suspend its nuclear and ballistic missile tests in exchange for a halt in joint US-South Korea military exercises. That plan has been rejected by Washington

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-09-18/north-korea-warns-more-sanctions-will-only-accelerate-its-completion-nuclear-force

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