North Korea: US should consider consequences of ship seizure

North Korea's UN ambassador has said the Trump administration should consider the possible consequences that the recent US seizure of a North Korean cargo ship could have on relations between the two countries and immediately return the vessel.

Kim Song said on Tuesday at a news conference the "outrageous act" of seizing the ship was aimed at bringing maximum pressure on North Korea to make it "kneel down".

The vessel Wise Honest, North Korea's second largest cargo ship, was first detained in April 2018 by Indonesia while transporting a large amount of coal. The US announced on May 9 that it had seized the ship because it was carrying coal in violation of UN sanctions, a first-of-its kind enforcement action that came amid a tense moment in relations with North Korea.

The ambassador said the seizure was an "outright denial of the underlying spirit" of the June 12, 2018, joint statement by President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un after their first summit in Singapore "which committed to establishing new bilateral relations."
At the summit, Trump promised "security guarantees" to Pyongyang and Kim recommitted to the "complete denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula."