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Sanctions on Pyongyang aim to pressure it to abandon its nuclear ambitions, not to "bring down" the country, Republic of Korea's foreign minister told the UN Conference on Disarmament on Tuesday, while the envoy from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), addressing the same gathering, dismissed sanctions as ineffective.
"Sanctions are not an end in themselves and not meant to bring down North Korea (the Democratic People's Republic of Korea) but to make it understand that its future lies not in nuclear weapons but in working with the global community towards denuclearization," ROK's Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha told representatives from countries including the United States, China, France as well as the DPRK.
The ROK's Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha addresses the Conference of Disarmament at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Feb. 27, 2018.
"Our consistent message should be that it (DPRK) must make the right decision. And if it does, we are ready to work together towards a brighter and prosperous future for North Korea (DPRK)," Kang said.
Earlier, US President Donald Trump unveiled what he called the "heaviest sanctions ever" levied on the DPRK – new sanctions targeting virtually every ship the DPRK is currently using.
Military vehicles carry missiles with characters reading "Pukkuksong" during a military parade marking the 105th birth anniversary of country's founding father, Kim Il Sung, in Pyongyang, April 15, 2017.
The sanctions will "never work," Pyongyang's ambassador Han Tae Song said, accusing the US of undermining inter-Korean relations.
Han said the US is engaging in "dangerous moves" that threatened inter-Korean relations that had improved since the Olympic Games in PyeongChang, the Republic of Korea.
"If the US ignores our sincere efforts for improving inter-Korean relations... but prefers provocation and confrontation, the DPRK will certainly respond," Han said.
The DPRK's ambassador to the United Nations Han Tae Song attends the Conference of Disarmament at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, Feb. 27, 2018.
Han told the Trump administration to "stop all provocations that escalate tensions, including deployment of nuclear assets around the Korean Peninsula," as well as the joint military exercises that he said undermined regional peace and security.
Replying to Pyongyang, US disarmament ambassador said the US would never accept the DPRK as a nuclear-armed state.
(AFP&REUTERS)
