North Korea has reacted sharply to a U.S. statement by threatening to carry out a "thousand-fold" military retaliation against America and its allies, if provoked.
"If the U.S. and its followers infringe upon our republic's sovereignty even a bit, our military and people will launch a one hundred- or one thousand-fold retaliation with merciless military strikes," a commentary published by the official Korean Central News Agency as well as the government-run Minju Joson newspaper said.
At a news conference with his South Korean counterpart Lee Myung-bak Tuesday, U.S. President Barack Obama declared North Korea a "grave threat" to the world, and pledged that recent UN sanctions on the communist regime would be strictly enforced.
The two leaders agreed to build a regional and global "strategic alliance" to persuade North Korea to dismantle its nuclear weapons.
The commentary described Obama "a hypocrite" for advocating a nuclear-free world, while making "frantic efforts" to develop new nuclear weapons at home.
"The nuclear program is not the monopoly of the U.S.," it added.
North Korea's muscle-flexing of its nuclear defense capability in recent months evoked protests and concerns from the global community.
Friday, the UN Security Council approved tough sanctions against North Korea, including inspection of ships suspected of taking banned cargo to and from North Korea, a wider ban on arms sales and further measures to cut Pyongyang's access to international financial services.
Provoked by these punitive measures, Pyongyang said it would start enriching uranium and use all its plutonium for making nuclear weapons.
Japan has taken action by banning all trade with North Korea. Despite being the reclusive Communist nation's main ally and which saved it from being overrun by U.N. forces in the early 1950s through military intervention, China said it would "earnestly implement" the new sanctions.
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June 12, 2026 17:14 ET Major central bank action was the focus this week in economic news. The European Central Bank became the first major central bank to move in response to the rising inflationary pressures in the backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East. In North America, the U.S. inflation and trade data as well as Canada’s central bank decision gained attention. The Chinese trade data was the main news in Asia.