North Korea said Thursday it has the determination to launch a satellite and conduct a fourth nuclear test, vowing stern action against any move to infringe on what Pyongyang claims is its sovereign right.

North Korea has recently raised its missile and nuclear threats, prompting South Korea and the United States to strongly warn the North against its possible provocations.

North Korea's key propaganda website, Uriminjokkiri, rebuked Seoul and Washington for hampering the North's sovereign rights at a time when the North has pledged to launch a satellite and to conduct another nuclear test.

"We've made it clear that we will take stern actions against any provocations to infringe on our sovereign right and dignity," it said.

The report by Uriminjokkiri does not carry the same weight as statements by the North's regime, but it marked the North's first explicit expression of its will to conduct a nuclear test.

On Tuesday, North Korea said it is fully ready to use nuclear weapons against the United States "at any time" and also announced that it has resumed operations at its nuclear reactor at the Yongbyon complex.

Some analysts said the North strongly hinted at conducting a nuke test following its previous ones in 2006, 2009 and 2013, while others said that North Korea's threat is just saber-rattling.

Late Monday, the North also vowed to launch what it called "a series of satellites" as it is preparing to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of its ruling Workers' Party on Oct. 10.

The North has claimed it has the right to conduct space research by launching what it called satellites, but outside analysts view this as a cover for intercontinental ballistic missile tests. (Yonhap)