North Korea says US sanctions could block path to denuclearization

North Korea on Sunday condemned the latest U.S. sanctions placed on the country, saying they could block a path to denuclearization.

Reuters reported that North Korea’s foreign ministry said in a statement that if the U.S. is expecting North Korea to get rid of its nuclear weapons following the latest sanctions, “it will count as [its] greatest miscalculation, and it will block the path to denuclearization on the Korean peninsula forever – a result desired by no one.”

The U.S. Treasury Department last week placed sanctions on three senior North Korean officials, accusing them of human rights abuses.{mosads}

Under the new sanctions, the three officials are banned from the U.S. financial system and American citizens are not allowed to make any transactions with them.

President Trump said in November that he expects his second meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un will take place “sometime early next year.”

“We’re going to change it because of trips that are being made. We’re going to make it at another date. We’re very happy how it’s going with North Korea. We think it’s going fine,” Trump told reporters.

“We’re in no rush. We’re in no hurry.”

The Trump administration has made little progress on North Korea’s denuclearization since the president and Kim met in Singapore in June.

At the summit, the two leaders signed a short statement that pledged a “denuclearization” of the Korean Peninsula, but the statement did not include specific details on the goal or how the two countries planned to achieve it.