Pyongyang, Sep 11 (IANS): North Korea on Monday threatened to "inflict pain and suffering" on the US, after Washington pushed for new sanctions against Pyongyang for its sixth nuclear test in the UN Security Council, the state-media reported.

"In case the US eventually does rig up the illegal and unlawful 'resolution' on harsher sanctions, North Korea shall make absolutely sure that the US pays due price," the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement released by the Korean Central News Agency.

Pyongyang is "ready and willing to use any form of ultimate means", the Ministry warned in the statement, which also stressed that its eventual retaliation "will cause the US the greatest pain and suffering it has felt throughout its history", reports Efe news

According to North Korea, the US "is trying to use Pyongyang's legitimate self-defensive measures as an excuse to strangle and completely suffocate it".

Pyongyang said it "has developed and perfected the super-powerful thermonuclear weapon as a means to deter the ever-increasing hostile moves and nuclear threat of the US", and to "defuse the danger of nuclear war looming over the Korean peninsula".

On September 3, the North Korean Army carried out its sixth and most powerful nuclear test with a hydrogen bomb, which triggered a strong condemnation of the international community and raised tensions in the region.

Leader Kim Jong-un called the country's latest weapon test "a great victory" during a banquet held in Pyongyang on September 9 which coincided with the 69th anniversary of the founding of the country.

The US, with support from Japan and South Korea, has called for a UN Security Council meeting on Monday to vote on a resolution with additional sanctions against North Korea.

The proposal included a ban on oil and textile exports to North Korea and prohibited North Korean citizens from working abroad.