Pyongyang is closely watching the United States

north-korean-ambassador

While the cargo ship Wise Honest is anchored in Pago Pago Harbor, North Korea is turning up the heat about the US’ seizure of the vessel.

North Korea’s Ambassador to the United States Kim Song says, “The United States has committed an unlawful and egregious act of dispossessing our cargo ship Wise Honest by possibly taking it to American Samoa under the pretext of unilateral sanctions and [under U.S.] domestic law.:

The ambassador said, “Pyongyang is closely watching the United States.”

He added, “We are condemning this act of dispossessing our cargo ship, this instance of the extreme hostile policy of the United States.”

The Ambassador was speaking at an unprecedented press conference at the UN to protest the move by the US.

“The United States did not care about international law and violated principles recognized worldwide,” Kim denounced.

The Wise Honest was carrying illicit shipments of North Korean coal in 2018 when it was detained in Indonesia.

The coal was released but the ship stayed at port until the U.S. Department of Justice used a civil forfeiture action to confiscate the property.

The ship was towed from Indonesia to Pago Pago arriving here a week ago Saturday.

Kim, who began serving as North Korean ambassador in 2018, also said the U.S. confiscation of the Wise Honest is an “outright denial of the underlying spirit of the June 12” U.S.-North Korea joint statement, signed in Singapore last year.

“The United States must return our cargo ship without delay,” the North Korean diplomat said.

“This is a man-made incident, the intervention of the United States,” he said.