North Korea threatened the United States with a tough response over a report on human trafficking
Kyiv • UNN
Pyongyang called the U.S. State Department's 2026 report a hostile provocation and interference in its internal affairs. North Korea promised a tough response.
Pyongyang considers this year’s U.S. State Department report on human trafficking an expression of hostility toward the DPRK and is threatening tough measures in response. This is stated in a statement by a representative of the DPRK Foreign Ministry, published by the North Korean state news agency KCNA, reports UNN.
Details
"The U.S. State Department has carried out another politically motivated provocation against the DPRK through the ‘2026 Trafficking in Persons Report’… The United States’ campaign directed against the DPRK... threatens the sovereign rights of our state and the interests of its citizens and, along with other hostile actions, will become one of the priority targets of Pyongyang’s toughest possible measures in response," the statement says.
The foreign ministry condemned the report published by the U.S. State Department and called it an instrument of pressure on the DPRK and an attempt to interfere in its internal affairs.
"We will never regard the publication of the U.S. report as a routine annual practice, but as a continuation of the hostile policy toward the DPRK and an attempt to overthrow our social system," the statement says.
At the same time, it claims that U.S. policy is one of the main reasons why North Korea intends to pay even greater attention to building up its military potential "to protect state sovereignty."
The DPRK will redouble its efforts to neutralize the hostile actions of the United States, force those who commit malicious acts to respond, achieve justice, and protect its sovereignty and social order," Pyongyang said.
Additional information
In the 2026 Trafficking in Persons Report, published by the U.S. State Department, North Korea was included on a list of 12 countries where state policies or practices related to human trafficking have been documented within government-funded programs involving forced labor, sexual slavery, or the recruitment of children into armed groups. Other countries on the list include Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran, and russia.