North Korea Mocks U.S. Attempts to Restore Sanctions, Calls It ‘Foolish Act’

North Korea has scoffed at the U.S. attempt to restore the North Korea sanctions monitoring system, which is in crisis due to Russia’s veto, calling it a foolish act.

Kim Sun Kyung, Vice Minister of the International Organization Department at North Korea’s Foreign Ministry, criticized through a statement released by Korean Central News Agency on the 19th, “Thomas-Greenfield’s recent visit to Asia is nothing more than a pathetic begging act of a loser trying to breathe life into the exhausted illegal and lawless anti-DPRK sanction pressure, even if it means borrowing the strength of its allies.” He mocked, “In the end, they are trying to keep the pressure on by stitching together the worn-out sanctions against North Korea.”

This was a criticism of U.S. Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who expressed an opinion during her visit to Korea starting on the 14th that she would review all possible options within and outside the UN system as an alternative to the expert panel of the UN Security Council’s North Korea Sanctions Committee, whose term ends this month, to ensure that the implementation of sanctions against North Korea continues.

After a four-day visit to Korea, Ambassador Greenfield headed to Japan on the 17th.

Vice Minister Kim commented on Ambassador Greenfield’s alternative to continuing sanctions against North Korea: “I’m curious how much resonance it will have, and what kind of ridicule and laughter they will receive from the international community as they go around beating their own drum.”

This is interpreted as expressing confidence that Russia’s veto and China’s abstention have virtually ruined the effectiveness of sanctions against North Korea.

He continued, “Clearly, the United States has lost its presence on the international stage, including the UN, and Thomas-Greenfield’s recent visit to Asia proves this.”

Vice Minister Kim also mocked Greenfield’s visit to Korea and Japan, saying, “The United States is not returning to the world after the current administration took office, but the world is leaving the United States.” He ridiculed it as “a foolish act that blatantly reveals what the United States is worried and afraid of in front of the world.”

He added that the U.S. must be so flustered, facing the miserable fate of the broken anti-DPRK sanctions regime, because the U.S. chose to visit Asia in the situation that the security issue of Israel, the United States’ greatest ally in the Middle East region, is at a critical point and the urgent task for the United States is the prompt resolution of the increasingly grave situation in the Middle East.