SEOUL: North Korea on condemned the US administration for stepping up sanctions and pressure on the nuclear-armed country, warning of a return to “exchanges of fire” and that disarming Pyongyang could be blocked forever.
The North’s stinging response came after the United States said on Monday it had introduced sanctions on three North Korean officials, including a top aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, for alleged human rights abuses.
Denuclearizing North Korea has made little progress since Kim Jong Un and US President Donald Trump met in Singapore in June in a historic summit. The two sides have yet to reschedule working-level talks between US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and senior North Korean official Kim Yong Chol, which were cancelled abruptly in November.
