It is despicable that the north's satellite launch was labeled a "long-range missile launch" and the "resolution on sanctions" fabricated, the statement charged.

A lot of countries launch satellites but there is no country which was subject to "sanctions", it said, and went on:

To impose "sanctions" on the DPRK only over its satellite launch is contrary to the principle of equality as it is based on the logic of powers.

It is quite possible that the north rebuffed the strange logic that what the U.S. launches is a satellite but what the north launches is a long-range missile.

If the south Korean authorities and the U.S. fail to lift "sanctions", this will spark a crisis on the Korean Peninsula baffling imagination and further deteriorate the situation.

In case the hostile policy toward the north is allowed to persist, we will stage a strong protest.