DPRK says new US sanctions will not work

PYONGYANG -- The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) said Thursday that the new sanctions imposed by the United States will not work and Pyongyang has prepared its own "formula" to counter them.

The unilateral sanctions imposed by US President Donald Trump upon the DPRK and other countries involved constitute a "wanton infringement upon sovereignty and an open violation of universally recognized international laws," the director of policy research of the Institute for American Studies of the DPRK Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA).

Trump announced on Feb 23 that the United States will launch a set of sanctions on the DPRK, targeting 56 vessels, shipping companies and trade businesses.

"The anti-DPRK sanctions and pressure by the Trump group can be described as 'harshest' ever seen in history in light of its vicious and reactionary nature," the director's statement said.

It said the Obama administration announced 217 sanctions designations on 28 occasions during eight years in office, while the Bush administration 11 designations on two occasions during eight years in office.

"It is really miserable to see that the Trump group clings frenziedly to sanctions and pressure, still harboring an illusion that they would work on us," it added.