NKorea: US sanctions tantamount to act of war

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has been placed on the USA sanctions list for human rights abuses, the State Department announced Wednesday.

Pyongyang described the sanctioning of Kim as a “hideous crime”, according to North Korea’s official KCNA news agency.

Pyongyang, in its first response to the sanctions, urged Washington to withdraw them immediately, warning that the North would instantly cut off all diplomatic channels if they failed to do so.

Pyongyang also demanded a US guarantee that it will not deploy offensive nuclear weapons in South Korea and neighboring countries and will not use them against North Korea.

The U.S. official declined to name the countries approached about reducing their use of North Korean labor, though he said they did not yet include China and Russian Federation, believed to be among the prime destinations for North Korean workers.

The report, which was mandated by the US Congress under the North Korea Sanctions and Policy Enhancement Act, cited “notorious abuses of human rights” suffered at the hands of Kim Jong Un and other officials. He said he reiterated the importance of China’s help in pressuring Kim over his nuclear weapons program.

Almost 80,000 to 120,000 people are being treated to third degree torture in Jong Un’s prison camps.

A long list of previous measures have had no success in pressuring North Korean leaders to change.

A U.S State Department spokesman said that, while the sanctions were unlikely to deter Kim, “that doesn’t mean this still isn’t the right thing to do”.

Numerous crimes are said to have been committed in the country’s political prison camps – known as kwanliso – which holds 80,000 to 120,000 prisoners where torture, execution, sexual assault, starvation and slave labour are common.

The sanctions also apply to five North Korean entities, such as the Ministry of People’s Security.

The two tests drew condemnation by the United Nations Security Council, which called on North Korea to suspend all nuclear and missile tests. Last month, the Treasury Department declared North Korea a “primary money laundering concern” – the toughest action it can take to discourage banks in any jurisdiction dealing with the country. A 2014 report by the United Nations, which referred to Kim, 32, by name in connection with human rights, triggered a strong reaction from Pyongyang, including a string of military provocations.

In recent years, the North Korean authorities have been repeatedly accused of human rights violations.