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US ‘Declares War’ On North Korea
North Korea has accused the United States of declaring war after Kim Jong Un was put on its list of sanctioned people.
The Director-General of the US affairs department in Pyongyang, Han Song Ryol, said the sanctions on the Dear Leader were the final straw:
"The United States has crossed the red line in our showdown. We regard this thrice-cursed crime as a declaration of war."
The state is already heavily sanctioned internationally, following nuclear tests and long-range missile development programmes, but this is the first time Kim himself has faced personal sanctions.
Mr Han added that the Korean peninsula was now on a war footing and warned of a vicious showdown if the US and South Korea hold their annual war games next month.
North Korea claims the manoeuvres have become openly aggressive.
They reportedly include training designed to prepare troops for the invasion of the North's capital and "decapitation strikes" aimed at killing its leadership.
Kim was placed on the list of sanctioned individuals on July 6.
North Korea cut off its official means of communication a week later.
US State Department officials said the sanctions were intended in part to highlight those responsible for the abuses and to pressure lower-ranking officials to think twice before carrying them out.
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