“In their desire to break the recalcitrant North Koreans, they are absolutely “fixated” on sanctions, both UN and their own, which have nothing to do with international legality,” RIA Novosti quotes him.
According to Ilyichev, "insincere lulling speeches" about the desire for peace are not only not supported by real deeds, they lose their meaning against the background of a clear line towards "aggravation of the situation" around the Korean Peninsula.
On February 2, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council said that the United States has no hostile intentions towards the DPRK.
The DPRK Foreign Ministry said that Pyongyang would give the "toughest response" to any military action by Washington.