North Korea says it is closing one of the last lines of communication with the United States in retaliation for Washington placing sanctions on leader Kim Jong Un for human rights abuses.
Pyongyang said Monday it has told the U.S. the North is effectively ending all diplomatic communications with Washington that have been conducted through the U.N. offices in New York.
Last week, the U.S. placed personal sanctions on Kim and several other North Korean officials, in addition to sanctions already in place on the country for Pyongyang's nuclear weapons program.
Earlier Monday, North Korea threatened to take "physical action" after the U.S. and Seoul announced plans for deployment of a sophisticated missile defense system in South Korea.
Pyongyang made the threat several days after Washington and Seoul revealed plans to use the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system - THAAD - on the Korean peninsula following a series of ballistic missile and nuclear tests by Pyongyang. The location and timing of the deployment have not been announced.