North Korea slams US Congress for passing new sanctions

Kim Jong-un led country accused US of using domestic laws for pressurising nations

North Korea on Friday slammed the United States Congress for passing a new law to tighten sanctions against the Pyongyang regime.

The Foreign Affairs Committee of the Supreme People's Assembly of North Korea has sent an open letter of protest to the US House of Representatives, strongly condemning and resolutely rejecting the "North Korea Interdiction and Modernization of Sanctions Act" passed last week, said the official Korean Central News Agency.

"The passage of the above legislation amounts to the most heinous act against humanity, not only infringing upon the sacred sovereignty of North Korea but also arbitrarily violating universal principles of sovereignty, equality and non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries," the letter said.

The law is another example of the United States using domestic laws to "meddle in other's internal affairs and bring pressure to bear on another country", it said.

The North Korea legislature also pointed out that the hostile actions by Washington "will further handicap the US in its attempt to resolve the nuclear issue (of the Korean Peninsula)".

"As the US House of Representatives enacts more and more of these reckless hostile laws, North Korea's efforts to strengthen nuclear deterrent will gather greater pace, beyond anyone's imagination," it added.