Nuclear action or sanctions taken by Washington against Pyongyang will lead to a "sea of fire" engulfing the US mainland, a North Korean newspaper said in its Sunday edition printed before the United Nations' adoption of a new sanctions resolution against the reclusive country.

"The day the US dares tease our nation with a nuclear rod and sanctions, the mainland US will be catapulted into an unimaginable sea of fire," the North's ruling-party newspaper Rodong Sinmun said in an article.

The article was printed as the UN Security Council adopted its Resolution 2371. However, the piece could still portend North Korea's fierce reaction to come over the international sanctions drafted by the United States.

In the article titled "North Korea should reverse its policy," the mouthpiece newspaper for the regime said, "Besides completely dumping its frayed hostile policy toward North Korea, the only choice for the US is self-destruction.

"The more the Trump gang strives to break out of today's quagmire, the more our military and people get aroused, giving more reasons for the (North Korean) republic to own nuclear weapons," the comment also said.

"A strong war deterrence is an essential strategic choice of national defense for our people who went through a horrendous war."

The latest UNSC's sanctions, the eighth of their kind against North Korea, are in response to Pyongyang launching two intercontinental-range ballistic missiles in July.

The resolution imposed a blanket ban on North Korean exports of coal, iron and iron ore, also putting restrictions on its overseas sales of lead, seafood and workforce. The measure is expected to slash at least one-third of North Korea's annual export revenue of $3 billion.  (Yonhap)