North Korea condemned a joint statement by countries monitoring the implementation of sanctions against Pyongyang, calling it a "flagrant violation of its sovereignty" caused by hostility from the United States and Western countries. The group, which includes the United States, Australia, Britain and South Korea, called on UN member states to implement sanctions that prohibit the employment of North Korean workers and military cooperation with Pyongyang. "Sanctions and pressure may affect the weak, but they will never affect us," said a spokesman for North Korea's foreign ministry, stressing that Western sanctions will not change the country's status as a nuclear-armed state.

North Korea condemned a joint statement by countries monitoring the implementation of sanctions against Pyongyang, calling it a "flagrant violation of its sovereignty" caused by hostility from the United States and Western countries. The group, which includes the United States, Australia, Britain and South Korea, called on UN member states to implement sanctions that prohibit the employment of North Korean workers and military cooperation with Pyongyang. "Sanctions and pressure may affect the weak, but they will never affect us," said a spokesman for North Korea's foreign ministry, stressing that Western sanctions will not change the country's status as a nuclear-armed state.