With the US pushing for more sanctions, both unilaterally and at the UN, targeting North Korea, the reclusive nation made a rare public appeal to the world, urging the UN to hold off the sanctions, and urging the nations of the world not to enforce them.
The letter to the 192 UN member nations specifically urged them not to enforce any UN sanction until the legality of the sanctions resolutions are resolved. North Korea is seeking an international ruling on the legal basis under which sanctions were imposed on them in the first place.
The letter also complained that the US was engaged in the intimidation of other countries related to the sanctions, citing US threats to impose sanctions on anyone who doesn’t comply with the UN sanctions as an “open threat,” and saying the US was only doing this because the sanctions lacked a legal basis.
Secretary of state Rex Tillerson is urging the UN to impose more sanctions on North Korea immediately, saying they must “act before North Korea does.” The US is also moving to impose more unilateral sanctions on companies that do any business with North Korea, a move North Korean officials called “reckless.”