Pyongyang has condemned the UN Security Council for passing a resolution which imposes weapons and financial sanctions on North Korea after its claimed nuclear test last Monday.
The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously in favour of a resolution imposing sanctions on North Korea for its nuclear test.
North Korea's UN ambassador Pak Gil Yon said the Council had behaved like "gangsters" and any further US pressure would be seen as "a declaration of war".
UN Resolution 1718 includes a ban on imports on many military items and imposes financial sanctions, however as many had anticipated it is not backed by the threat of military force.Earlier today, US officials said that preliminary results of scientific tests appear to confirm that North Korea did carry out a nuclear test last Monday as it claimed, however, it said that further tests were necessary to provide a definite conclusion.
Japan, meanwhile, on Saturday said that its latest survey of radiation levels in the air showed no irregularities. South Korean and Chinese scientists also said earlier they had detected no evidence of radioactivity in air, soil and rainwater.
One official quoted by AP said the results could indicate a "nuclear fizzle" rather than a full test.
The UN vote on the resolution had previously been delayed due to concerns about the original US-proposed draft, which were raised by Russia and China.
International envoys unanimously gave their agreement that the resolution was sufficient response to North Korea's action.
British UN envoy Sir Emyr Jones Parry described the resolution as "very, very robust response".
US Ambassador to the UN, John Bolton told reporters the US was "very pleased" the resolution had been agreed upon.
China's UN envoy Wang Guangya described the resolution as a "strong, forceful, appropriate response".
Prior to the agreement, Russia's Defence Minister Sergei Ivanov said the resolution "should not carry even a hint at use of force and mustn't be directed against the North Korean people".
In the agreed resolution, the US has revised its draft resolution to remove the threat of imminent military action in efforts to allay Chinese and Russian concerns. It has also reduced the total embargo on military equipment it initially pushed for.
One hotly debated issue has been whether or not to allow nations to inspect cargo moving in and out of North Korea in search of non-conventional weapons. China and Russia have spoken out against such checks, warning that they could spark naval confrontations with North Korean boats.
However, Sir Jones Parry said the agreed text "ultimately provides for inspection of goods to and from North Korea, if necessary, to support compliance with this resolution".
