North Korea Describes Latest U.N. Sanctions As An "Act Of War"

North Korea has called new U.N. sanctions against the country an "act of war," BBC News reports. A statement by the foreign ministry said they were tantamount to a complete economic blockade, North Korea's KCNA news agency reported.

The United Nations Security Council imposed tough sanctions on Friday in response to a ballistic missile North Korea said can reach the U.S.

The resolution adopted by all 15 council members didn't go as far as the toughest-ever sanctions that have been sought by the Trump administration, such as prohibiting all oil imports and freezing international assets of North Korea's government and its leader, Kim Jong Un. But it was a sign that China has come around to ratcheting up of pressure on Pyongyang, CBS News' Pamela Falk reported from the U.N. The unanimous passage showed that Beijing is working with Washington to increase economic pressure on the North Korean regime in response to its nuclear program.

"It sends the unambiguous message to Pyongyang that further defiance will invite further punishment and isolation," U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley said of the resolution after a Friday vote.  

On Sunday, the North Korean statement described the sanctions as "a violent breach of our republic's sovereignty and an act of war that destroys the peace and stability of the Korean peninsula and a wide region," BBC News reports. 

"The United States, completely terrified at our accomplishment of the great historic cause of completing the state nuclear force, is getting more and more frenzied in the moves to impose the harshest-ever sanctions and pressure on our country," the statement said.

"We will further consolidate our self-defensive nuclear deterrence aimed at fundamentally eradicating the US nuclear threats, blackmail and hostile moves by establishing the practical balance of force with the US," it added.