North Korea has warned that it will inflict “the greatest pain and suffering” on the US if it continues to call for fresh sanctions in response to the regime’s sixth nuclear test last week.
According to a draft resolution leaked to the media, Washington wants the UN security council to support a halt to oil exports to North Korea and a freeze on the assets of its leader, Kim Jong-un.
The US, which is seeking a meeting of the security council later on Monday, also backs an end to textile imports and a ban on North Koreans working overseas, where they earn much-needed foreign currency for the regime.
Pyongyang claims it tested a hydrogen bomb on 3 September that can be loaded onto an intercontinental missile [ICBM], drawing widespread condemnation and increasing pressure on Donald Trump to respond.
North Korea’s recent volley of missile launches, combined with last Sunday’s nuclear test, suggest it is edging closer to its goal of building a nuclear-tipped missile capable of hitting the US mainland – a game-changing development that Trump vowed in January “won’t happen”.
In a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency on Monday, North Korea’s foreign ministry warned the US that if it “did rig up the illegal and unlawful ‘resolution’ on harsher sanctions, the DPRK shall make absolutely sure that the US pays a due price”.
