Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov yesterday called for the United States and North Korea to start negotiations, the RIA news agency reported.

Lavrov was cited as saying that Russia was ready to facilitate such negotiations.

Moscow has long called for Washington and Pyongyang to hold talks aimed at de-escalating tensions around North Korea's nuclear and missile programme.

North Korea's foreign ministry said on Sunday that the latest UN sanctions against North Korea were an act of war and tantamount to a complete economic blockade against it.

The UN Security Council unanimously imposed new sanctions on North Korea on Friday for its recent intercontinental ballistic missile test, seeking to limit its access to refined petroleum products and crude oil and its earnings from workers abroad.