'Serious provocation'

North Korea yesterday condemned its US terror listing as a "serious provocation" , warning that sanctions would never force it to abandon its nuclear weapons programme.

The response came shortly after China, the North's sole ally, also rejected as "wrong" new US sanctions that targeted Chinese companies doing business with the pariah state.

President Donald Trump Monday declared North Korea a state sponsor of terrorism, a spot on a US blacklist Pyongyang had shed nearly a decade ago.

On Tuesday the US unveiled its fresh sanctions which also targeted North Korean shipping, raising the pressure on the North to abandon its nuclear programme.

"Our army and people are full of rage and anger towards the heinous gangsters who dared to put the name of our sacred country in this wretched list of 'terrorism'," North Korean state news agency KCNA quoted a foreign ministry spokesperson as saying.

Slamming Washington for behaving like an "international judge on terrorism", the spokesperson added that the US move was "clearly an absurdity and a mockery to world peace and security".

Trump said that the terror designation and new sanctions would be part of a series of moves over the next two weeks to reinforce his "maximum pressure campaign" against Kim Jong-Un's regime.

But the North remained defiant yesterday, vowing to continue building up its nuclear force in the face of repeated US sanctions and threats.

"The nuclear weapons of the DPRK are the deterrence to safeguard our sovereignty," it said, using the initials of the North's official name.

"As long as the US continues with its anti-DPRK hostile policy, our deterrence will be further strengthened."

China has pressed for dialogue as regional tensions have soared, saying this week "more should be done" to hold talks to resolve the crisis.

But yesterday Beijing lashed out at the latest sanctions, which expand the list of Chinese firms accused of doing business with the North despite promises from Beijing that it will honour UN-backed punitive measures.

"We consistently oppose any country adopting unilateral sanctions based on its own domestic laws and regulations and the wrong method of exercising long-arm jurisdiction," foreign ministry spokesman Lu Kang told a regular news briefing.

Meanwhile, Air China has suspended flights to North Korea, further limiting the secretive state's links with the outside world, but the company said yesterday it was a business decision.

Air China last cancelled flights to North Korea in April, citing low customer demand, but resumed them soon after.