EU sanctions will make N. Korea stronger: diplomat

By Kim Da-hee

The European Union’s intensifying sanctions will only make North Korea stronger, the North Korea’s foreign ministry spokesman has told the country’s media.

He rejected suggestions of economic/political instability escalating in the face of international sanctions to stop the nation’s long-range missile and nuclear bomb tests.

The spokesman made a rare appearance on the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) Monday, criticizing the EU for “explicitly jumping on the U.S.-led bandwagon of anti-North Korea policy.” The remark came days after the EU imposed more sanctions on the North.

“The sanction was modeled after the U.S. sanction, which was made in violation of the U.N. Charter,” the spokesman said. “The EU should behave with discernment because the union fell into the worst refugee crisis after following the U.S. policy subverting the sovereignties of Middle Eastern nations.”

The North Korean diplomat urged the EU to concentrate on its complicated domestic issues, saying its collaboration is not helpful in “guaranteeing international justice.”