Pyongyang, June 25 (IANS): North Korea on Thursday slammed the establishment of a UN human rights office in South Korea, which will monitor Pyongyang's human rights performance.

The Committee for the Peaceful Reunification of Korea (CPRK) in a statement said it was the most hideous political provocation against North Korea, Xinhua news agency reported.

It was "a blatant challenge to the dignity and social system of North Korea and an open declaration of war against it," the statement said.

The statement condemned the UN human rights office as "an illegal, plot-breeding tool the US and its followers invented by abusing the name of the UN with an aim to stifle North Korea."

The office will become "a target of merciless strike" once it is launched, it warned.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein on Tuesday inaugurated the office in the South Korean capital of Seoul, despite the strong opposition and warnings from Pyongyang.