In New York, Yun is to join a special UNSC meeting on North Korean denuclearization to be chaired by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. It is the first-ever UNSC meeting arranged over the issue of the denuclearization of the country, the foreign ministry here has said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and diplomats from the council's 15 members will join the meeting.

North Korea's key April anniversaries passed without a nuclear or intercontinental ballistic missile test which the country had been widely speculated to be preparing.

The North marked the 85th anniversary of the founding of the Korean People's Army on Tuesday and the birthday of North Korean founder Kim Il-sung on April 15.

"The most important purpose of discussing the North Korean issue at the UNSC is to preemptively deal with exactly this possibility of North Korea's provocation," Yun noted. 

"I can clearly tell you that if North Korea conducts an additional provocation, it will face unbearable punitive measures, as South Korea, the US and the international community have warned," he noted.

The hosting of the first-ever UNSC meeting dedicated to the North Korean issue is "evidence that the international community is taking the nuclear and missile threats posed by North Korea more gravely than ever," the top diplomat said.

For the new US administration, the North Korean nuclear issue is the top priority, and the country is closely cooperating with its allies and partners including South Korea to resolve the issue, he said.

During his visit to New York, the foreign minister is also expected to sit together with his American and Japanese counterparts to bolster their collaboration on the issue.

Yun will also hold talks with the UN secretary-general and Henry Kissinger, former US secretary of state, to discuss ways to denuclearize the North. (Yonhap)