North Korea foreign ministry official calls possession of nuclear weapons 'matter of life or death'

The foreign ministry official said the country would fight 'fire with fire'

An unidentified rocket is displayed during a military parade marking the 105th anniversary of the birth of late North Korean leader Kim Il-Sung in Pyongyang on April 15, 2017 (ED JONES/AFP/Getty Images)

A North Korean foreign ministry official says having nuclear weapons is a "matter of life or death", in a wide-ranging and aggressive statement aimed at the US.

Any attempt to place sanctions on the country will be viewed as a "declaration of war", according to the statement.

The official also vowed that the country would fight "fire with fire" amid increasing nuclear tensions on both sides, according to an RIA news agency report. That may be a reference to Donald Trump's threat to unleash "fire and fury the likes of which the world has never seen before" on North Korea.

The threat comes amid warnings from US officials that North Korea is "on the cusp" of perfecting its nuclear weapons. "They are close enough now in their capabilities that from a US policy perspective we ought to behave as if we are on the cusp of them achieving" the ability to strike the US with a nuclear weapon, CIA Director Mike Pompeo warned.

The US will have to "put up with" North Korea's nuclear status, the official said in Moscow, making clear that Pyongyang has no plans to hold talks with the US.

"This is a matter of life and death for us. The current situation deepens our understanding that we need nuclear weapons to repel a potential attack," said Choe Son-hui, director-general of the North American department of North Korea's foreign ministry, told a non-proliferation conference in Moscow, RIA reported.

"We will respond to fire with fire."