Nobel laureates Said North Korea Sanctions Should be Eased

International sanctions on North Korea were further tightened this year after it claimed to have tested a hydrogen bomb and launched a missile into space.

The laureates’ visit came as a rare party congress opened in North Korea, with leader Kim Jong-un hailing his country’s “great success” in its nuclear advancements.

The event is widely seen as a chance for Mr Kim to cement his power, and South Korea urged the foreign delegation not to visit, fearing it would become a propaganda coup for the North.

Sanctions imposed on North Korea are hampering health and science and should be eased, a group of three Nobel laureates have said.

They were speaking in Beijing after visiting Pyongyang in what was billed as an attempt to promote dialogue.

“You cannot turn penicillin into a nuclear bomb,” one of them said.