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| U.S. President Donald Trump, right, gestures as he meets with North Korea's leader Kim Jong-un before their historic North-U.S. summit, at the Capella Hotel on Sentos island in Singapore on June 12. / AFP-Yonhap |
By Park Ji-won
North Korea continued to condemn new sanctions recently imposed by the U.S. against the country and it being designated as a violator of religious freedom, Thursday, signaling a bumpy road to denuclearization talks between the two.
North Korean propaganda outlets criticized the United States, calling it an "intolerable insult" and a "political provocation" against the regime.
"The U.S.'s intention lies in denouncing us as a human trafficking country, staining the image of our republic to create a mood for sanctions pressure," Uriminzokkiri, one of the North's state-run websites, said in an article Thursday.
Calling the U.S. a "wasteland of human rights" and a "living hell for human beings," the North's media said that "thousands of unemployed people are roaming on the streets as the right to work, which is a basic right related to survival, isn't guaranteed in the U.S."
The remarks came after the U.S. again designated the North as one of the worst human trafficking countries and a violator of religious freedom while imposing sanctions on three North Korean officials, including the North's de facto No. 2 figure, Choe Ryong-hae, for human rights abuses.
These measures are likely leverage to resolve a deadlock in nuclear negotiations between Pyongyang and Washington. North Korea has been calling for the lifting of sanctions for further denuclearization steps while the U.S. insists that sanctions relief is possible only after the North's complete denuclearization.
Other propaganda websites, including Meari, have been releasing similar articles since early this week.
"Hundreds of years ago, (the U.S.) became a rich country by hunting black people and slave trade and it's a country notorious for its social evils up to the present day. Is it possible for a criminal country against human rights to talk about 'human rights' in front of people?" Meari said in an article Thursday.
Meanwhile, the U.S. will likely continue to take strong measures against the North.
"The Presidential Determination on restrictions and waivers of restrictions for certain types of assistance to the governments of the 22 countries ranked Tier 3 in the 2018 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report reflects the United States' firm commitment to combating human trafficking," a senior officer of the U.S. Department of State told VOA.
Another U.S. official praised the U.S.'s move to have imposed sanctions against North Korea in a media outlet.
"To be able to pass the strongest sanctions in a generation that brought the world together and brought North Korea to the table was really important," Nikki Haley, outgoing U.S. ambassador to the U.N., told NBC's "Today Thursday."
