Seoul: North Korea on April 30 said that it would regard any US move to seek UN sanctions against the communist country as "the green light to a war".

The warning came after South and North Korea agreed to try to peacefully resolve the nuclear crisis, though Pyongyang has warned that further talks with the United States are useless unless it drops its demand that the North first scrap suspected atomic weapons programmes.

The North said talks in Beijing last week on its nuclear programmes proved "fruitless" because the United States was trying to bring North Korea "to its knees".

"The US should have clarified its political will to make a brave switchover in its hostile policy toward (North Korea) at the talks and proved it in practice," North Korea said in a statement on KCNA, its official news agency.

North Korea said it would not bow to US demands that it dismantle its nuclear capabilities before any negotiations because such a move would leave it defenceless.

North Korea "will take self-defensive measures, regarding it as the green light to a war" if Washington seeks a UN resolution authorising economic sanctions against it, the statement said.

The agreement between the two Koreas was made after four days of talks in Pyongyang, North Korea's capital.

"South and North Korea will thoroughly consult each other's position on the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula and will continue cooperation to resolve this issue peacefully through dialogue," a joint statement said.

Agencies