North Korea has accused the United States of "trying to drive the situation of the Korean peninsula to the brink of nuclear war" after the UN Security Council unanimously adopted new sanctions Saturday in response to Pyongyang's long-range ballistic missile tests last month.
The measures aim to make it harder for North Korea to make money across the globe. They target North Korea's primary exports -- including coal, iron and seafood -- and attempt to cut off its additional revenue streams by targeting some of its banks and joint ventures with foreign companies.
The forceful comments, made in a statement released via the country's permanent mission to the United Nations Monday, condemned the sanctions in the "strongest terms" declaring the resolution a "wanton infringement upon the sovereignty of the country."
Speaking at the ASEAN Regional Forum on Monday, North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho blamed the US for the current situation on the Korean Peninsula and said Pyongyang's "possession of nuclear weapons and intercontinental ballistic missiles is a legitimate option for self-defence in the face of a clear and real nuclear threat posed by the US."
"We will, under no circumstances, put the nukes and ballistic rockets on the negotiating table," Ri said, adding Pyongyang would "teach the US a severe lesson" if it used military force against North Korea.
North Korea's state-run KCNA news agency said the country's missile launches were a "stern warning to the US," and warned Washington against "believing that its land is safe across the ocean."
"(North Korea) will make the US pay dearly for all the heinous crimes it commits against the state and people of this country," KCNA said.
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