Washington: Sanctions against North Korea to remain in place

SEOUL, June 24 (UPI) -- North Korea's unabated threat to U.S. national security was cited as a reason for prolonged economic sanctions against Pyongyang.

The White House issued the statement on Monday, stressing how North Korea's nuclear proliferation posed "an unusual and extraordinary threat" to the United States.

Beginning in 2008, "The President declared a national emergency...to deal with the unusual and extraordinary threat...constituted by the existence and risk of proliferation of weapons-usable fissile material on the Korean Peninsula," the statement read.

Since that time, the Obama administration has previously used North Korea's designation as a "national emergency" to launch a series of import restrictions against Pyongyang, Yonhap reported.

U.S. sanctions against North Korea have multiplied. In 2010, President Obama approved new sanctions in response to the sinking of the South Korean warship Cheonan that killed 46 sailors.

An international team of investigators later concluded North Korea torpedoed the South Korean ship.

Most recently, Washington imposed new sanctions against Pyongyang following a cyber-attack against Sony Pictures in November 2014.

The White House said in a statement Executive Order 13570 was signed into law to address the "provocative, destabilizing and repressive actions" of North Korea, "including its destructive, coercive cyber-related actions during November and December 2014."

Washington said Pyongyang continues to "constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States."

On Wednesday, Pyongyang said the Korean War began when the U.S. attacked the North, and that the "score must be settled" in the new century.