North Korea Calls U.N. Sanctions an ‘Act of War’<br />North Korea on Sunday called the latest round of punishing United Nations sanctions an “act of war,” and reminded the United States<br />that the North’s rapid development of missiles and atomic bombs meant it posed a “substantial nuclear threat to the U. S. mainland.”<br />In a statement released by the state-controlled Korean Central News Agency, North Korea said the sanctions approved unanimously on Friday by the United Nations Security Council were tantamount to a blockade,<br />and it threatened to retaliate against the United States and the council’s 14 other member nations.<br />“We will further consolidate our self-defensive nuclear deterrence aimed at fundamentally eradicating the U. S. nuclear threats, blackmail<br />and hostile moves by establishing the practical balance of force with the U. S.,” the Foreign Ministry statement read.<br />The sanctions are intended to hurt North Korea in two vital ways: Cutting refined petroleum imports by 89 percent would exacerbate the country’s fuel crisis,<br />and expelling foreign guest workers would substantially reduce remittances, an important source of hard currency.
