North Korea threatens 'pain and suffering'

North Korea has warned the United States that it will pay a "due price" if harsh sanctions against the country are agreed at a United Nations Security Council meeting on Monday. North Korea's Foreign Ministry said in a statement published on state media that if the US "does rig up the illegal and unlawful 'resolution'" it would respond in kind.

The Security Council is due to vote in New York on a US-drafted resolution to impose new restrictions on the rogue state following its sixth and largest nuclear test, carried out just over a week ago. "The DPRK is ready and willing to use any form of ultimate means," the statement said, referring to the country by its acronym, reports.

"The forthcoming measures to be taken by the DPRK will cause the US the greatest pain and suffering it had ever gone through in its entire history." The US and its allies have been calling for stern measures against North Korea since the September 3 nuclear test.

The test sent powerful tremors across the region, suggesting the device used was the most powerful the nation has ever tested. Pyongyang claims it tested a hydrogen bomb capable of sitting atop a ballistic missile. "We know the Americans may come back with many more sanctions but in response we  Koreans will continue shooting up many more missiles and conducting many more H-bomb tests," North Korean shop assistant Han Myong Sim told CNN's Will Ripley.

"We don't worry very much," said another shop worker, Ri Jong Ok. "As long as we have Kim Jong Un, we'll survive."
Among the celebrations was a gala event in honor of North Korea's nuclear scientists, who successfully conducted the country's sixth nuclear test.

North Korean leader Kim attended the glitzy event himself, where footage purportedly showing the explosion was played, accompanied by a full string orchestra.