N. Koreans slam effort to add sanctions

PYONGYANG, North Korea — North Korean officials lashed out Monday at efforts in the United Nations to strengthen sanctions after the North’s latest missile launches and nuclear test in September.

The officials told an Associated Press television crew in Pyongyang that sanctions targeting the nuclear and missile tests are “criminal documents” and accused the United States of orchestrating the condemnation.

The United Nations has imposed sanctions on North Korea since 2006 for its nuclear tests and rocket launches.

“The sanction resolutions of the U.N. Security Council are illegal criminal documents,” Pang Kwang Hyok, vice director of the department of international organizations at the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said in Pyongyang. The North’s mission to the U.N. issued a similar statement that was distributed by North Korean state media Monday.

“These resolutions determined that our nuclear tests and satellite launches pose threats to international peace and security, but then the problem is why has the U.N. Security Council never taken issue with the nuclear tests and satellite launches conducted by other countries,” Pang said.