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North Korea 'plans third nuclear test'
North Korea says it is proceeding with plans for a third nuclear test.
In a statement carried by KCNA news agency, the top military body said the "high-level nuclear test" and more long-range rocket launches were aimed at its "arch-enemy", the US.
The statement gave no time-frame for the test. North Korea has conducted two nuclear tests, in 2006 and 2009.
Source: BBCThe move comes two days after a UN Security Council resolution condemned Pyongyang's recent rocket launch.
The Security Council also expanded sanctions against the communist country following its December launch, which was seen by the US and North Korea's neighbours as a banned test of long-range missile technology.
North Korea said the rocket was solely aimed at putting a satellite into space for peaceful purposes.
The statement, which came from North Korea's National Defence Commission, hit out at the resolution as "illegal", before pledging a response.
"We do not hide that the various satellites and long-range rockets we will continue to launch, as well as the high-level nuclear test we will proceed with, are aimed at our arch-enemy the United States," KCNA quoted it as saying.
"Settling accounts with the US needs to be done with force, not with words," it added.
Recent reports from South Korean and US bodies which monitor North Korea's nuclear test sites had said North Korea could be preparing for a third test.