SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea said yesterday it  would start a uranium enrichment programme and weaponize all its  plutonium in response to fresh UN sanctions, which the United  States said it would work vigorously to enforce.

Pyongyang also threatened military action if Washington and  its allies tried to isolate it.
The UN Security Council approved a resolution on Friday  that banned all weapons exports from North Korea and most arms  imports into the country. It authorized UN member states to  inspect North Korean sea, air and land cargo, requiring them to  seize and destroy shipped goods that violate the sanctions.

Yesterday, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said  North Korea’s “continuing provocative actions are deeply  regrettable.”

“They have now been denounced by everyone and have become  further isolated,” Clinton said during a news conference with  her Canadian counterpart in Niagara Falls, Canada.

“This was a tremendous statement on behalf of the world  community that North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons and the  capacity to deliver those weapons through missiles is not going  to be accepted by the neighbors as well as the greater  international community,” Clinton said of the UN resolution.

KCNA news agency quoted an unnamed North Korean Foreign  Ministry spokesman as saying in a statement, “We’ll take firm  military action if the United States and its allies try to  isolate us.”

North Korea would start a programme to enrich uranium for a  light-water reactor, he said. Experts said North Korea lacks  the technology and resources to build such a costly reactor but  may use the program as cover to enrich uranium for weapons.