North Korea condemns U.S. sanctions, warns denuclearization at risk

North Korea has condemned the United States for stepping up sanctions and pressure on the regime.
It warned there may be a return to an "exchange of fire",... and the denuclearization process could be dead in the water.
Lee Seung-jae reports.
Efforts to denuclearize North Korea have made little progress since the historic summit between North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and U.S. President Donald Trump in June,... where both sides agreed to work on denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.
That goal may have hit another snag as Pyeongyang issued a fresh warning on Sunday.
It said if Washington continues to escalate its sanctions and human rights campaign against the North,... the approach could permanently end any chance of denuclearizing the regime.
The statement by North Korea's Foreign Ministry was carried by the regime's official Korean Central News Agency.
The ministry said that, if the U.S. believes North Korea would give up its nuclear weapons by increasing sanctions and their "human rights racket to an unprecedented level",... it would be the (quote) "greatest miscalculation".
It added such moves "will block the path to denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula forever,... a result desired by no one."
The ministry's statement was released under the name of the policy research director of the Institute for American Studies.
The warning came after the U.S. sanctioned three North Korean officials last week,... including Choe Ryong-hae, a top aide to Kim Jong-un.
Lee Seung-jae, Arirang News.