North Korea says sanctions ‘work on the weak but never on us’ after renewed sanctions push

North Korea on Friday said sanctions and pressure "may work on the weak but never on us," after several countries called for its denuclearization and urged action to counter Pyongyang's attempts to evade UN sanctions.

Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Korea, the UK, the US and the European Union called for the "complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization" of North Korea, urging it to abandon its "unlawful" weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs.

"We continue to strongly support the implementation of all DPRK-related UN Security Council resolutions," they said in a joint statement.

In a statement, a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson denounced the countries' position, describing it as a "wanton violation" of the country's sovereignty.

The ministry also condemned what it called the US and its "vassal forces'" attempt to justify their "hostile policy" toward Pyongyang under "unjust and unreasonable pretexts."

"Taking this opportunity, we warn once again the member states of the multilateral sanctions monitoring team, including the ROK and Japan, and the EU, which are active in the US-led anti-DPRK sanctions and pressure racket, against their hostile acts, and make it clear that they will be held accountable for such hostile acts," it said.

The ministry added that North Korea remains determined to reliably "ensure by dint of its powerful strength the protection of its national sovereignty and interests… and strive to build the international relations based on justice and impartiality."