Although the entire Internet is currently fixated upon Ted Cruz liking a porn tweet on Twitter, some serious stuff is going down where North Korea is concerned. The U.N. has followed through on projected sanctions against Pyongyang over Kim Jong-un’s repeated refusal to put down his collection of intercontinental ballistic missiles, and especially for his regime’s development of mini-nukes that can be strapped onto those ICBMs.
The U.N. even had the support of Russia and China during this morning’s vote that pushed forth a “watered down” version of proposed economic (including oil import) sanctions, which are the most severe sanctions yet against North Korea. Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., explained during proceedings that everyone’s tired of “trying to prod the regime to do the right thing,” so the sanctions will hinder its ability “to do the wrong thing.” Of course, North Korea’s foreign ministry has already fired back with a threat of “a very strong response, with unbearable consequences.” against D.C. after Haley’s words. Here’s more:
“Hostile sanctions are like a delusion tantamount to expecting foolishly that the ocean would dry up. As long we have a very powerful nuclear arsenal, we can ensure the security and peace of the homeland and its people.”
NBC News reports even more rhetoric, this time from North Korea’s ambassador to the U.N., Han Tae Song, who rejected and condemned the sanctions (calling them “illegal and unlawful”) and says that the U.S. should be prepared for the “greatest pain.” Further, Han acted aghast at how the U.S. continues to be “obsessed with the wild game of reversing” North Korea’s nuclear program, which he says has already achieved “completion phase.”
In other words, North Korea could be firing more missile tests this weekend, if not sooner. After all, that stunt involving Pyongyang firing a missile over a Japanese island where the U.S. conducts military exercises wasn’t just for giggles, and now, Kim Jong-un is even angrier.