SEARCHES of North Korean ships under new UN sanctions are an “inexcusable” violation of sovereignty, a Pyongyangmaritime official has said.

Nam Hyon Il of the Maritime Administration condemned the sanctions imposed by the UN security council in early March in response to the dynastic state’s fourth nuclear weapon test and a satellite launch.

He called the measures “an infringement of maritime trade activities of a sovereign state, which is inexcusable.”