U.S. Sanctions Could Trigger North Korea’s Upward Adjustment of Power

North Korea has warned that if the United States continues to impose sanctions, despite the failure to maintain a panel of experts on North Korean sanctions, there could be an upward adjustment of power that the U.S. fears most.

Kim Eun Chul, the U.S. Deputy Foreign Minister of North Korea, said in a statement released through the Korean Central News Agency on the 25th, “As sanctions and pressures increase, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) becomes stronger and more robust.” He added, “If the U.S. unfolds a new sanction against the DPRK, we will seize a new opportunity for the upward adjustment of power that the U.S. fears most.”

This is a response to the U.S.’s insistence on North Korean sanctions even after the extension of the expert panel’s term, which has been monitoring the implementation of the UN resolution on North Korean sanctions, was canceled due to Russia’s veto.

Analysts suggest that the “upward adjustment of power that the U.S. fears most” could be the launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile at a normal angle or a seventh nuclear test.

Deputy Kim said, “Every time the U.S. manipulated a new sanction resolution on the UN stage, it triggered a more powerful and advanced nuclear test of the DPRK. The U.S.’s brutal sanctions have acted as a catalyst and driving force for the gradual increase of our national power,” implying that U.S. sanctions have ironically accelerated North Korea’s nuclear development.

He also said, “The sanction obsession shown by the current U.S. administration is nothing new to us, who have lived under the sanctions of hostile forces for more than half a century.” He said, “We have resisted U.S. sanctions and have the ability and great power to withstand any harsh sanctions.”

He emphasized, “It was precisely because of the U.S.’s nuclear threat that the DPRK decided to possess nuclear weapons, and it was precisely because of the U.S.’s relentless hostile policy and sanction pressures that we did not waste time and immediately rose to the status of a world nuclear power.”

He said, “In our confrontation with the U.S., what we will lose is the chain of sanctions and nuclear threats, and what we will gain is our eternal safety and prosperity. The DPRK will thoroughly protect its sovereign rights and security interests from the U.S.’s increasing hostile threats and sanction pressures. It will take more powerful practical actions to make its military-technical superiority irreversible and enhance the control of the surrounding security situation.”

The Ministry of Unification commented on Deputy Kim’s remarks: “The international community is discussing a new sanctions monitoring mechanism against North Korea. As a result, we view North Korea’s response as indicating dissatisfaction and anxiety, and rather see it as evidence of the effectiveness and necessity of sanctions against North Korea.”