North Korea claims they plan ‘high-level’ nuclear test aimed at United States

North Korea reportedly claimed on Thursday that they plan to conduct a nuclear test as well as more rocket launches aimed at its “arch-enemy,” the United States.

The veracity of this claim is highly questionable given that North Korea regularly makes threats that they never follow through with, although, as I reported in April of 2012, reports emerged indicating “North Korea allegedly might have a missile which is capable of delivering a payload to the continental United States.”

Those reports were highly dubious since analysts couldn’t even tell if what they observed in imagery captured by satellites was an actual missile or a life-size mock-up.

According to AFP, this latest test is being done in response to new United Nations sanctions, although no timeframe has been provided for the test.

“In the new phase of our century-long struggle against the United States, we do not hide the fact that various satellites, long-range missiles that we will continue to launch and high-level nuclear test we will conduct will target our sworn enemy, the United States,” the North Korean National Defense Commission said in a statement according to reports. The statement was apparently originally reported in English by South Korea’s Yonhap.

The National Defense Commission statement came after the UN Security Council condemned North Korea and expanded sanctions over the rocket launch in December, according to the Associated Press.

While North Korea maintained that the launch was actually just a peaceful satellite mission, Western powers like the United states maintained it was actually a test of long-range missile technology.

According to another Associated Press report, North Korea threatened to wage a “full-fledged confrontation” against the United States over what they call continued hostilities.

After the vote was held to approve expansion of UN sanctions on North Korea, the U.S. ambassador to the UN Susan Rice said, “This resolution demonstrates to North Korea that there are unanimous and significant consequences for its flagrant violation of its obligations under previous resolutions.”

“More importantly, the provisions of this resolution — both new sanctions and the tightening and expanding of existing measures — concretely help to impede the growth of North Korea’s (weapons of mass destruction) program and reduce the threat of proliferation by targeting entities and individuals directly involved in these programs,” Rice said, according to CNN.

The UN Security Council resolution specifically targets a North Korean bank, the North Korean space agency and a handful of other companies. In addition, four individuals were added to the so-called blacklist.