North Korea Brushes Aside Sanctions and Pressure, Vows to Become a 'State Nuclear Force'
With the way things are going, North Korea doesn't seem to be bothered by the warnings thrown by the United States in relation to the ongoing nuclear crisis.
According to the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) website Uriminzokkiri, the mounting pressure and planned sanctions hurled by the U.S. toward Pyongyang are futile. The agency also stressed that North Korea is determined to become a "state nuclear force," Aljazeera reported.
"The US and the South Korean puppet forces are mistaken if they think that sanctions and pressure will keep the DPRK from attaining the goal of completing the state nuclear force," said KCNA. DPRK stands for "Democratic People's Republic of Korea."
"The US and vassal forces would be well advised to bear in mind that their frantic sanctions - contrary to the trend of the times - will lead to their final doom," the state news agency added.
The statements came in the wake of US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's meeting with Chinese president Xi Jinping and other Chinese diplomats regarding the current nuclear crisis. The talks, however, were dismissed and put aside after U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un were caught in a heated word war.
Tillerson reached out to Pyongyang but received no response. The State Department also confirmed that though the communication lines remain open, North Korea showed no interest in any discussion in relation to giving up their nuclear arsenal.
The tension is at an all-time high, which prompted Tillerson to call for sobriety. "The whole situation is a bit overheated right now. I think everyone would like for it to calm down," said the U.S. official. "I think if North Korea would stop firing all the missiles, that would calm down things a lot," he added.
Earlier this week, Dyn Research confirmed that Russian company TransTeleCom has started providing internet connection to North Korea since Sunday. Reuters reported that telecom company is already handling about 60 percent of the country's internet traffic. The remaining 40 percent of traffic still comes from the Chinese company, Unicom.