The North Korean ambassador to the UN on Wednesday said international sanctions were affecting vulnerable families in the DPRK and were blocking the delivery of medical equipment.

Speaking at the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women in Geneva, Ambassador Han Tae Song also called for the return of 12 North Korean women who defected from a restaurant in China in 2016.

“Due to these inhumane economic sanctions, vulnerable peoples like women and children are becoming… victims,” Han said in comments carried by Reuters.

“Such sanctions against humanity which block even the delivery of the medical equipment and medicines for