26 May 2016

News Story: N. Korea asks UN chief to explain legal basis for sanctions

North Korea has challenged United Nations chief Ban Ki-moon to clarify the legal basis for UN sanctions against it, Pyongyang's state media said Tuesday.

The North's permanent representative to the UN wrote to Secretary-General Ban on Monday, saying that UN sanctions imposed over its nuclear tests and "peaceful satellite launches" had no legal foundation, KCNA news agency reported.

It did not identify the permanent representative by his name, Ja Song-Nam.

The UN Security Council in March imposed its toughest sanctions on North Korea to date following its fourth nuclear test in January and a long-range rocket launch the following month.

The North had already been subject to a range of sanctions because of earlier nuclear tests -- in 2006, 2009 and 2013 -- and a series of long-range missile tests presented as satellite launches.

The Security Council resolutions condemned the nuclear tests and rocket launches as a threat to international peace and security.

Read the full story at SpaceDaily