The Supreme Leader Strikes Back: How Will N Korea Answer UN Sanctions?

Pyongyang's reaction to the latest UN sanctions is not surprising, but one should brace for a tougher response from the North, according to Sue Mi Terry, managing Director for Korea at Bower Group Asia, an advisory firm that helps companies do business in Asia.

In an interview with Sputnik, Sue Mi Terry, Bower Group Asia's managing director, said that Pyongyang's reaction to the latest UN sanctions hasn't raised any eyebrows, but that one should expect a bigger and more aggressive response from the North.

Terry's remarks came as Pyongyang fired several short-range missiles into the East Sea, hours after the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a new set of sanctions against North Korea in response to the nuclear test and satellite launch it conducted earlier this year.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un reacts as he watches a long range rocket launch in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang February 7, 2016.

© REUTERS / KCNA

"I think that a greater provocation [from North Korea] is forthcoming, right down to another nuclear test. This is entirely predictable and expected," Terry said.

Referring to the sanctions the UN slapped on North Korea on Thursday, she said that Pyongyang certainly "did not expect such a level of response from the international community."

She specifically pointed to the fact that the sanctions remain the only mechanism that helps contain the North's nuclear ambitions.

"The only stick that the global community can come up with is sanctions," she pointed out.

The new set of restrictive measures against the North has already been called the toughest in the last 20 years. They target multiple sectors of the country's economy and make all cargo going to and from the country subject to inspection.

It also prohibits the sale of luxury goods, conventional weapons and aviation fuel, including rocket fuel. The restrictions also ban North Korea's export of coal, iron, gold, titanium and rare natural minerals.

Shortly after the UN Security Council issued its decision to expand sanctions, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stated that North Korea’s nuclear warheads needed to be ready to be used at any time.