"We reiterate with concern that overseas DPRK IT workers continue using forged identities and nationalities" to evade U.N. sanctions and raise funds for missile programmes, according to the envoys' joint statement, using the acronym for North Korea's official name. U.S. and South Korean forces have been conducting a series of annual springtime exercises since March.Angered by those military exercises, Pyongyang has been ramping up its military activities in recent weeks. It unveiled new, smaller nuclear war heads, and fired an intercontinental ballistic missile capable of striking anywhere in the United States.As those exercises and tests continue, there has been an exchange of harsh rhetoric. On Thursday, North Korea accused Washington and Seoul of pushing tensions to the brink of nuclear war through their military drills.Kim Gunn, South Korea's chief nuclear negotiator, said North Korea's nuclear ambition was "nothing more than a self-destructive boomerang" shattering its economy. "North Korea is misguiding its people to believe that nuclear weapons are a magic wand that can solve all of its problems," Kim said in his meeting with U.S. and Japanese officials on Friday.Japan on Friday announced a two-year extension of its trade ban on North Korea, with exemptions for humanitarian reasons.

Source: The North Africa Journal April 07, 2023 06:03 UTC