North Korea on Friday ruled out negotiations with Washington as long as joint U.S-South Korea military exercises continue, and said that Pyongyang's atomic weapons program would remain as a deterrent against a U.S. nuclear threat.

New satellite images suggest that North Korea has resumed working at the secretive state’s mountainous nuclear test site, despite new United Nations sanctions, according to a U.S.-based watchdog.

In an attempt to punish North Korea for its latest nuclear test, the UN Security Council approved new sanctions, targeting the country’s textile industry and limiting its import of crude oil.