North Korea blasts US again for sticking to sanctions

North Korea accused the United States on Friday of an "inhumane act" of imposing sanctions even on school supplies and toys for children in the communist nation, the latest in a series of criticism seen as a call for easing such restrictions amid stalled denuclearization talks.

Uriminjokkiri, the North's external propaganda website, said that the U.S. has completely blocked the North's trade and economic exchanges with the rest of the world with reckless sanctions, and even committed such an "inhumane act" of making school supplies and toys subject to sanctions.

The article was about the North's efforts to guarantee the rights of children to mark the 29th anniversary of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, but it highlighted the point that U.S. sanctions are affecting children in the country.

State media outlets of the North have been repeatedly criticizing the U.S. for keeping sanctions, as American officials said they have no intention of relaxing them before the communist nation gives up its nuclear programs.

On Thursday, Uriminjokkiri blasted the U.S. for imposing sanctions that are the "most heinous, persistent and unprecedented in terms of its scale, implementing methods and duration" but emphasized that they could not deter it from realizing economic development.

Denuclearization talks between the two sides have been stalled as Washington wants Pyongyang to take more denuclearization measures, while the North wants a reward from the U.S. for the steps it has taken so far, such as blowing up its nuclear testing site. (Yonhap)