South Korean authorities had earlier said they believed North Korea had conducted its biggest nuclear test to date after detecting an “artificial natural disaster”.
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North Korea has been under U.N. Security Council sanctions since it first tested an atomic device in 2006.
By doing tests, North Korea is breaking United Nations resolutions and runs the risk of getting slapped with more U.N. sanctions.
Specific details of the U.S. unilateral sanctions have yet to be decided, Kim said.
In the wake of its nuclear warhead test, the worldwide community has voiced its strong condemnation over the development.
Last Oct. 10, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un held a massive military parade in the center of Pyongyang that involved tanks, missiles and aircraft.
“Having witnessed with alarm what happened to Libya’s Moamer Kadhafi and Iraq’s Saddam Hussein, North Korea is deadly serious in believing its nuclear weapons are the only guarantee that can ensure its survival against an invasion by the United States”, he said.
North Korea conducted the nuclear test on Friday, saying it had mastered the ability to mount a warhead on a ballistic missile.
“Obama is trying hard to deny the DPRK’s strategic position as a legitimate nuclear weapons state but it is as foolish an act as trying to eclipse the sun with a palm”, a foreign ministry spokesman allegedly said.
The North Korean ruling party’s newspaper said likewise on Saturday that the country would stay on the nuclear path. Another source cited by Yonhap said Seoul recently set up a special unit in charge of targeting North Korea’s top military leadership and “launching retaliatory attacks on them”.
South Korea’s military said on Monday that North Korea was ready to conduct another nuclear test following its fifth nuclear detonation.
In 2009, Pyongyang pulled out of six-party talks, which involved North Korea, South Korea, US, Japan, China and Russian Federation. “If they have not reached that capability today, they certainly will relatively soon with further nuclear test explosions and ballistic missile tests”, he said.
The test inspired a round of condemnation and calls to action.
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“North Korea continues to present a growing threat to the region, to our allies, to ourselves, and we will do everything possible to defend against that growing threat”, Sung Kim said. “THAAD will also enable Seoul to increase surveillance of East and Central China”, Cui said.
