North Korea on Tuesday hit out at the US seizure of one of its cargo vessels, accusing Washington of defying the “underlying spirit” of their new diplomatic relationship and trying to bring Pyongyang to its knees.
In a statement, released via the North’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), an unnamed Foreign Ministry spokesperson accused Washington of committing an “unlawful and outrageous act” for taking possession of its second-largest bulk freighter. The vessel was originally seized in Indonesia last year for allegedly circumventing UN-imposed sanctions on shipping coal. Its handover to the US was announced last week.
“The US should ponder over the consequences of its heinous act,” the official said.
Tensions between the US and North Korea have been rising in recent months, after February’s second round of denuclearization talks in Vietnam between Trump and Kim failed to make any headway. Pyongyang has since restarted its program of testing rockets and short-range missiles which South Korean President Moon Jae-in said represented Pyongyang’s frustration because “it could not reach a deal in Hanoi.”