The chief of the External Policy Office of the Foreign Ministry of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea issued on Feb. 23 the following press statement "Illegal anti-DPRK sanctions-breeding moves will precipitate the DPRK’s behavioral counteraction to defend its sovereign right":

Recently the U.S. and its followers held a confab, called a meeting of the steering committee of the "multilateral sanctions monitoring team" (MSMT), in Washington and talked about strengthening the implementation of the UN "sanctions resolutions" to cope with the nuclear and missile "threats" of the DPRK.

The "MSMT", formed by the states that are only doing harmful things, far from contributing to international peace and security, is nothing but an illegal, illegitimate and criminal ghost group in terms of the reason of its existence and purpose.

We strongly warn that the anachronistic acts of the hostile forces foolishly attempting to block the exercise of the legitimate rights of the DPRK while calling it to account for no reason, contrary to the recognized principles of international law with the respect for sovereignty and non-interference as its core, may bring about serious backfire hard for them to deal with.

The U.S. should know that no matter how it may play diplomatic tricks and blame its servants, it can not restore the outdated anti-DPRK sanctions mechanism, driven into a miserable fate, and that the more it clings to the sanctions tools, the more it will feel hard and inconvenient rather than the DPRK.

Taking this opportunity, the DPRK clarifies once again its stand on the issue of sanctions. Sanctions waiver through negotiations is not a matter of concern from long ago for the DPRK, which has no more to undergo or avoid sanctions, and it is not on the agenda of the DPRK.

The U.S. barbarous sanctions have made the DPRK more perfectly understand the way that it can survive, self-sustain and get strong despite the severest external circumstances. And they became a decisive factor that hastened the building of a powerful force no one can ignore before anything else.

The DPRK does not pay heed to any sanctions. However, it will never overlook any provocations of the U.S. and its followers to encroach upon the legitimate sovereign rights of the DPRK under the pretext of implementing sanctions, but strongly counter them with resolute actions.

The illegal anti-DPRK sanctions-breeding moves of the hostile forces will precipitate the DPRK’s behavioral counteraction to defend its sovereign rights and those involved in the moves will have to pay a heavy price.

Rodong Sinmun