North Korea Won't Surrender to US Sanctions

North Korea said it would not surrender to US sanctions and blamed Washington for trying to put it on its knees, the Associated Press reported.

The DPRK's foreign ministry accused the United States of hostility towards Pyongyang and cited as examples recent US reports on alleged human trafficking and religious repression in North Korea. A statement by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was quoted as saying that over 80 percent of the North Korean economy was under penalty of sanctions.

The ministry said that all this shows "the unbridled US desire to put North Korea on its knees through sanctions, and pressure not only does not diminish at all, but it strengthens, and even more openly."

Pyongyang's diplomatic office indicated that the DPRK "is not a country that will give way to sanctions."

This statement reminds once again that North Korea continues to mistrust the United States, although leader Kim Jong-un and President Donald Trump recently exchanged letters, the Associated Press reported. This shows that the two leaders hope to continue diplomacy, although after the failed Hanoi bilateral summit it is not known for the implementation of other official meetings between the two countries.

On Saturday, Trump arrives on a two-day visit to South Korea.