North Korea urges Latin American countries not to break ties with it

Seoul, Aug 19 : North Korea on Saturday urged several Latin American countries not to break ties with it and criticised a recent petition by Washington asking them not to have any relations with Pyongyang.

During a recent visit to Santiago, US Vice President Mike Pence had openly urged Chile, Brazil, Mexico and Peru to break all diplomatic and trade ties with North Korea.

A North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson said such coercive behaviour from the US showed extreme arrogance and egotism, state-owned KCNA agency reported.

According to the spokesperson, it showed Washington's intervention in the domestic affairs of sovereign states and was a violation of international law.

The North Korean official further said that the Kim Jong-un regime would continue to improve relations with different countries based on the principles of friendship, self-sufficiency and peace, Efe news reported.

The spokesperson also urged the four nations to reject Washington's petition claiming that all countries will become victims of US intervention in domestic policy if they comply with or tacitly approve of the recent UN Security Council sanctions pushed by the US.

On August 5, the UN imposed the most severe sanctions to date on North Korea for its recent intercontinental ballistic missile launches.