North Korea, the country some in the White House think can be negotiated with 140 characters at a time, and the U.S. may be on the path to war. Throughout the summer the two countries have needled each other with missile tests and policy changes that the other country then responds. Naturally, after the United Nations security council decided unanimously to support new sanctions against North Korea, Pyongyang has promised “thousands-fold” revenge against the U.S.
The security council’s new sanctions could slash the the regime’s export revenue by $3 billion and target coal, iron, and sea food, but not oil. The sanctions also prevent countries such as China and Russia from hiring North Korean laborers whose paychecks go toward government:
In a statement carried by the official KCNA news agency, the government said the sanctions were a “violent violation of our sovereignty” and part of a “heinous plot to isolate and stifle” the country.
Pyongyang threatened to take “righteous action”, describing the sanctions as a crime for which the US would pay “thousands of times.”
At a conference in the Philippines, US Secretary of State avoided his North Korean counterpart, Ri Yong-ho, even going so far as to skip a dinner. Ri told reporters in prepared remarks that North Korea’s nuclear program was not on the negotiating table and that the entire U.S. mainland was within striking distance to their missiles as a means of “self-defense.”
The U.S. and South Korea are expected to conduct joint military exercises later this month, which will likely draw another response from Pyongyang.
(Via The Guardian)