North Korea has told the United Nations it would consider it an act of war if the Security Council imposes sanctions over the ongoing nuclear weapons program crisis.
"They have said they would take such punitive action by the Security Council as a declaration of war," said Maurice Strong, UN special adviser on North Korea, following a visit to Pyongyang, according to CNN.
Washington's top arms control diplomat said Wednesday that it is time to refer the matter to the United Nations Security Council, which in turn could hit Pyongyang with sanctions.
"It's not a question of 'if' it goes before the Security Council, it's only a matter of time," Undersecretary of State John Bolton said.
Bolton, in Seoul in the framework of continued US efforts to find a resolution to the stand-off, added that South Korean officials had agreed the UN Security Council should handle the issue.
The council could consider imposing economic sanctions on Pyongyang unless it freezes its nuclear facilities and reverse this month's decision to quit the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT). (Albawaba.com)
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