North Korea has warned the US of its "own way
of counteraction" if a maritime blockade and more sanctions are
imposed, as threatened by US President Donald Trump on February 23.
A
spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of North Korea on Sunday
said in a statement the PyeongChang Winter Olympics are successfully
coming to an end due to efforts by North Korea and collaboration by
South Korea, while the process of an inter-Korean detente has been
launched since the beginning of the year, Xinhua reported.
"However,
on the eve of closing of the PyeongChang Winter Olympics, the United
States is running amok to bring another dark cloud of confrontation and
war over the Korean peninsula by announcing enormous sanctions against
North Korea," said the spokesman.
On
February 23, Mr Trump announced, what he called the "heaviest
sanctions" on North Korea. The new sanctions, the "largest-ever" package
on North Korea, will target 56 vessels, shipping companies, and trade
businesses.
"Trump has announced new sanctions, the core of which
is to completely block North Korea's maritime trade with other
countries," said the spokesman.
The spokesman said North Korea has stated on numerous occasions that it will consider any type of blockade an act of war.
"If
the US ignores all of our sincere efforts for improving inter-Korean
relations and for preserving peace and stability on the Korean
peninsula, as desired by the nation, and doggedly persists instead in
provocation against us, we will have a tight grip on the US and deal
with it with our own way of counteraction," said the spokesman.
He
also warned that if tension on the Korean peninsula again escalates
into a brink of war, "all the catastrophic consequences resulting
therefrom will be borne by the US."