North Korea on Thursday denounced the human rights bill passed by South Korea's parliament, claiming that it will further aggravate inter-Korean relations.

Calling the bill an "unprecedentedly confrontational evil law," North Korea's main newspaper the Rodong Sinmun claimed the bill will further fuel distrust and confrontation between the two Koreas and also annihilate any bit of chance to improve inter-Korean relations.

On March 2, South Korea's National Assembly approved the bill on North Korean human rights, hours before the U.N. Security Council unanimously okayed its toughest-ever sanctions against Pyongyang in response to the North's recent nuclear test and rocket launch. 

In an article titled "The worst political provocation," the daily of the North's ruling Workers' Party said the human rights bill is "an atrocious provocation to realize a craft delusion of regime change of the North by crushing our sublime socialist system."

Pyongyang is accused of committing countless human rights abuses, ranging from holding hundreds of thousands of political prisoners in concentration camps and allowing torture and public executions. The country, however, flatly denies the accusations raised and counters that the criticism is a ploy led by the United States to topple its regime. 

In a separate article, the newspaper said the North is determined to wipe out "the war maniacs of the United States and its puppet followers," in reference to the ongoing annual military exercises between Seoul and Washington.

"Our revolutionary forces of Paektu will mercilessly destroy enemies if they ignore our warning and make any rash military provocation," the newspaper said. "Then we will finally accomplish our greatest and long-cherished dream for national unification by winning our sacred war against imperialists."

In a recent warning, the North's powerful National Defense Commission said, "The army and people of the will take military counteraction for preemptive attack so that they may deal merciless deadly blows at the enemies." 

"If we push the buttons to annihilate the enemies even right now, all bases of provocations will be reduced to seas in flames and ashes in a moment," the commission said. (Yonhap)