The North made the threat in a letter sent on the UN on Monday to denounce a recent statement released by the world body that condemned Pyongyang’s latest ballistic missile tests.
North Korea "has substantial means capable of reducing aggression troops in the US mainland and the operational theater in the Pacific to ashes in a moment," read the letter written by Pyongyang’s foreign ministry.
A test-fire of strategic submarine-launched ballistic missile is seen in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang, August 25, 2016. (Photos by Reuters)
On Friday, the 15-member UN Security Council announced its condemnation in a unanimous statement drafted by the US and supported by China, expressing “serious concern” about North Korea’s four ballistic missile launches in July and August.
Pyongyang also referred to the UN’s condemnation as "a hostile act" by the US which could lead to Washington’s "self-destruction."
It added that the UNSC statement was "a reckless provocation harassing peace and stability on the Korean peninsula."
The North also accused the council of intentionally disregarding a complaint sent by the government in Pyongyang over joint US-South Korean military exercises currently underway in the region.
"This is an illegal action taken by the world body to side with the US in the acute standoff between the DPRK and the US without an iota of impartiality," said the statement.
On Wednesday, North Korea test-fired a submarine-based ballistic missile from its eastern coast few days after the US and South Korea began their annual military exercises.
South Korean officials said the submarine-launched missile flew about 500 kilometers (310 miles) before falling into the Sea of Japan.
"North Korea’s leader Kim Jong-un, however, described the missile test as the “greatest success,” adding that it put the US mainland and the Pacific “within the striking range.”"
North Korea has pledged to develop a nuclear arsenal in a bid to protect itself from the US military, which occasionally deploys nuclear-powered warships and aircraft capable of carrying atomic weapons in the region.
"Now that the US posed threats to the dignity and the right to existence of the DPRK defying its serious warning, it will continue to take a series of eventful action steps as a full-fledged military power," read the statement.
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