North Korea will act more to maintain its military power, despite pressure from US sanctions that have only strengthened the country, a North Korean Foreign Ministry official said on Thursday (still Wednesday in Brazil).
“The heinous US sanctions served as a catalyst and driving force that triggered a gradual increase in our national strength,” a senior Foreign Ministry official said, according to state news agency KCNA, referring to its nuclear tests sparked by international sanctions led by Washington.
The country “will protect its sovereign rights and security interests from increasingly hostile threats and sanctions pressure from the United States and take stronger real measures to make its already established military and technological strength irreversible,” the official added.
Kim Yo Jong, the powerful sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, said on Wednesday that the country will press ahead with its “overwhelming” military build-up, in response to frequent US military exercises with South Korea.
The US and South Korean armies have conducted several large-scale and intense exercises in recent months, as part of a pledge by leaders of both countries to improve military readiness against threats from North Korea.
North Korea says US military exercises are preparations for nuclear war.
“We are accustomed to US sanctions and have the ability and great power to resist any strict sanctions,” the Foreign Ministry official said, according to KCNA.
(Reporting by Ju-min Park)
Source: CNN Brasil
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