North Korea calls latest UN sanctions 'an act of war'

A monitor shows an image of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un during a news program .

Credit: Tomohiro Ohsumi

Credit: Tomohiro Ohsumi

A monitor shows an image of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un during a news program .

North Korea criticized the new round of United Nations sanctions against it Sunday, calling them "an act of war," CNN reported. The North Koreans also warned that the United States and other nations that supported the new, stricter measures will pay a heavy price.

The UN Security Council unanimously adopted sanctions last week against North Korea because of its intercontinental ballistic missile test in November, CNN reported.

Nikki Haley, the U.S. ambassador to the UN, said the resolution cuts exports of gasoline, diesel and other refined oil products by 89 percent, CNN reported. It also bans exports of industrial equipment, machinery, industrial metals and transportation vehicles to North Korea.

In a statement on the website of the country’s official KCNA news agency, North Korea's foreign ministry lashed out against the sanctions, saying the United States is intimidated by the nation's nuclear power.

“The United States, completely terrified at our accomplishment ... is getting more and more frenzied in the moves to impose the harshest-ever sanctions and pressure on our country,” the statement said.

The statement also warned that if the United States “wishes to live safely, it must abandon its hostile policy” toward North Korea.