SEOUL, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- In a furious response to the U.N. sanctions, North Korea Tuesday vowed to take "merciless" countermeasures against any nation that tries to squeeze the communist country, saying the United Nations' measure was a "declaration of war."
Analysts in Seoul say the North's warning indicates it would take further steps, such as a second nuclear test or missile launches, to raise its stakes in the standoff with the United States.
It also reflects, they say, the North's fear that U.N. sanctions could topple the country's already tattered economy.
Over the weekend, the U.N. Security Council unanimously voted for a U.S.-drafted package of financial and weapons sanctions against North Korea, which carried out a nuclear test on Oct. 9 defying worldwide appeals and threats of punishment.
The resolution calls for all U.N. members to impose wide-ranging economic and diplomatic sanctions against North Korea -- from a prohibition on exports of luxury products for use by the North's ruling elite and a partial arms embargo to travel bans on officials involved in weapons development and financial moves to starve the country's military programs for cash.
In its first official response to the U.N. move, North Korea said it "vehemently" denounces and "totally refutes" the resolution, "a product of the U.S. hostile policy" toward the North.
The imposition of sanctions was "a declaration of war" and an undisguised move to "bring down" the North, Pyongyang's Foreign Ministry said in a statement, pledging to deal "merciless blows through strong actions" to whoever tries to "breach our sovereignty and right," said the statement carried by the North's state-run Korean Central News Agency.
"The DPRK (North Korea) wants peace but is not afraid of war. It wants dialogue but is always ready for confrontation," it said.
North Korea also vowed it would not bow to outside pressure. "If the Bush group ... calculates it can bring the DPRK to its knees through sanctions and pressure, pursuant to the already bankrupt hostile policy toward it, there would be nothing more ridiculous and foolish than its behavior," the statement said.
"It is quite nonsensical to expect the DPRK to yield to the pressure and threat of someone at this time when it has become a nuclear weapons state," it said.
"The United States would be well advised not to miscalculate the DPRK," the statement said, noting the North "will closely follow the future U.S. attitude and take corresponding measures."
It also defended the nuclear test as a "great deed" that "greatly contributed to defending peace and stability not only on the Korean peninsula but in the rest of Northeast Asia, as it demonstrated a powerful deterrent for coping with the U.S. nuclear threat and blackmail and foiling its attempt to ignite a new war."
The nuclear test was "a legitimate exercise of its sovereign right to defend the sovereignty of the country."
Analysts in Seoul said the North's statement indicates Pyongyang will take further military steps unless the United States retreats from its "hostile" stance against the communist country.
They predict the North's next steps may include a second nuclear test to win global recognition that it is armed with nuclear weapons, or the test-launch of a ballistic missile which could be equipped with a nuclear warhead. Another possible measure is the extraction of plutonium to make more nuclear bombs, they say.
Fueling the concerns, South Korean officials said Tuesday there were signs the North may be preparing a second nuclear test which could bring the Korean peninsula into a deeper security crisis.
"The North's statement seemed aimed at sending a warning of further physical actions ahead of a planned Asian visit by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice," said Nam Sung-wook, a North Korea specialist at Korea University in Seoul.
Rice is to arrive in Seoul Thursday as part of a six-day visit that includes stops in Japan, South Korea, China and Russia. During the visit, Rice will "rally the support of our friends and allies" in the region in the punishment against North Korea.
Ahead of Rice's tour, the top U.S. nuclear envoy, Assistant Secretary of State Christopher Hill, flew to Seoul Tuesday to coordinate efforts to resolve tensions over North Korea's nuclear test.
Upon arriving in Seoul, Hill called on South Korea and China to form a united front against Pyongyang's nuclear ambition. "We need to work very hard with our partners and allies to implement the U.N. Security Council resolution," he told reporters.
