SEOUL, South Korea, Shawwal 06, 1437, July 11, 2016, SPA -- North Korea said Monday it will end a diplomatic communication channel with the United States and hinted at harsher punishment for Americans detained in the country in retaliation for U.S. sanctions that target leader Kim Jong Un, according to AP. The U.S. government last week imposed penalties on Kim and 10 other top officials for alleged human rights abuses. North Korea is already sanctioned because of its nuclear weapons program, but it was the first time that Kim has been personally sanctioned. The North called the sanctions tantamount to a war declaration. On Monday, the North's state media said it told the United States it will terminate contact through a U.N. channel in New York that allowed diplomats to communicate. In Washington, State Department spokesman John Kirby did not directly address the fate of the New York channel. In comments to reporters, he called on North Korea "to refrain from actions and rhetoric that only further raise tensions in the region." He said he would not comment on the details of diplomatic exchanges. The North also said it informed Washington that it will handle all issues between the two countries according to an unspecified wartime law, including Americans detained in North Korea, according to the state-run Korean Central News Agency. South Korean media have suggested that North Korea might use the wartime law to hand out harsher punishments on Americans detained in the North. --SPA 22:55 LOCAL TIME 19:55 GMT www.spa.gov.sa/w