SEOUL: North Korea has not only accused the U.S. government of declaring war following the latest round of economic sanctions against Kim Jong Un, but the regime has also banned all imports of goods that resemble a Christian cross, such as women’s hairpins and men’s neckties. Han Song Ryol, director-general of the U.S. affairs department at the North’s Foreign Ministry, told The Associated Press on Thursday that the American government has “crossed the red line” by directly sanctioning Kim.
“The Obama administration went so far to have the impudence to challenge the supreme dignity of the DPRK in order to get rid of its unfavorable position during the political and military showdown with the DPRK,” Han said, arguing that putting Kim on the sanctioned list has created the conditions for war.
“The United States has crossed the red line in our showdown,” the North Korean representative added. “We regard this thrice-cursed crime as a declaration of war.” AP noted that although North Korea has faced numerous sanctions in the past, the July 6 sanctions were the first time Kim himself was put on the list of individuals sanctioned for various human rights abuses documented by the United Nations Human Rights Commission.
