North Korea slams latest U.N. sanctions as 'act of war'

North Korea slammed the latest set of U.N. sanctions imposed on the isolated nation as an "act of war." The measures were taken earlier in the week in reaction to the country's repeated intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) tests.

"We fully reject the latest UN sanctions ... as a violent breach of our republic's sovereignty and an act of war that destroys the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula and a wider region," Pyongyang's foreign ministry said in a statement on the state-run KCNA news agency.

"The United States, completely terrified at our accomplishment of the great historic cause of completing the state nuclear force, is getting more and more frenzied in the moves to impose the harshest-ever sanctions and pressure on our country," the ministry statement added.

"We will further consolidate our self-defensive nuclear deterrence aimed at fundamentally eradicating the U.S. nuclear threats, blackmail, and hostile moves by establishing the practical balance of force with the U.S."

The statement concluded by saying that those who had voted for the sanctions would face Pyongyang's wrath.

"Those countries that raised their hands in favor of this 'sanctions resolution' shall be held completely responsible for all the consequences to be caused by the 'resolution' and we will make sure forever and ever that they pay the heavy price for what they have done," the statement said.