A North Korean official on Saturday condemned a new round of sanctions by the British government against it, warning in a statement that the UK would be made to “pay the price” for the measures.

In comments carried by Pyongyang’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), a spokesperson for the DPRK’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) slammed the “puppet” government of the UK for its decision earlier in the week to place asset freezes on North Korea’s state security and police forces.

“This act of the UK is a despicable political scheme which follows in the footsteps of the