North Korean leader Kim Jong-un inspects a purported nuclear warhead near Pyongyang, North Korea, on Sept. 3, 2017. North Korea's Foreign Ministry released a statement Sunday branding the sanctions approved Friday by the U.N. security council an "act of war." File Photo by Stephen Shaver/UPI | License Photo

Dec. 24 (UPI) -- North Korean released a statement branding the United Nations' latest round of sanctions against the county as an "act of war."

The state-run Korean Central News Agency released a statement from North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's Foreign Ministry branding the U.N. Security Council's sanctions, which were approved Friday by all 15 member nations, as a "full economic blockade" and an "act of war."


The sanctions, proposed by the United States following North Korea's test of the Hwasong-15 long-range missile, feature a steep cut in delivery of petroleum products, including an 89 percent reduction in diesel and kerosene.

The resolution also orders the expulsion of North Korean state laborers working outside the country within 24 months.

North Korean's statement rejected the sanctions.

"We define this 'sanctions resolution' rigged up by the U.S. and its followers as a grave infringement upon the sovereignty of our republic, as an act of war violating peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula and the region, and categorically reject the 'resolution,'" the statement said.

The government said it will continue to defy the will of the United States and the United Nations.

"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 [United States]," the Foreign Ministry said.

The statement pledged retaliation against all countries that voted for the resolution.

"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 a heavy price for what they have done," it said.