The statement from North Korean Deputy Ambassador Kim In Ryong followed warnings from US Vice President Mike Pence to Pyongyang not to test US resolve following another missile test. "If the United States dares opt for a military action (...) the DPRK is ready to react to any mode of war desired by the Americans," Kim told a news conference. North Korea has taken "self-defensive" measures in response to US threats of military action and these reflect Pyongyang's determination to "counter nukes and ICBM in kind," he said, referring to intercontinental ballistic missiles. The North Korean deputy envoy asserted that Pyongyang would hold the United States "wholly accountable for the catastrophic consequences to be entailed by its outrageous actions." US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will next week chair a special meeting of the UN Security Council on North Korea.

Source: The Nation Bangkok April 17, 2017 17:15 UTC