US President Barack Obama said Tuesday North Korea's nuclear test "endangers all of us" and the communist nation must "face consequences."

Obama made the remark during his final address to the UN General Assembly, as the UN Security Council is working on fresh sanctions on Pyongyang for its fifth nuclear test.

"We cannot escape the prospect of nuclear war unless we all commit to stopping the spread of nuclear weapons and pursuing a world without them," Obama said.

"When Iran agrees to accept constraints on its nuclear program, that enhances global security and enhances Iran's ability to work with other nations. On the other hand, when North Korea tests a bomb, that endangers all of us and any country that breaks this basic bargain must face consequences," he said.

Nuclear powers like the US have a "unique responsibility to pursue the path of reducing our stockpiles and reaffirming basic norms like the commitment to never test them again," Obama said.

Addressing global economic problems, Obama also compared the economies of South and North Korea.

"The stark contrast between the success of the Republic of Korea and the wasteland of North Korea shows that central planned, controlled economy is a dead end," he said.

Obama strongly condemned the North's Sept. 9 nuclear test, issuing a rare statement of his own vowing never to accept the North as a nuclear state and pledging to "significant" new sanctions on the communist nation.

But cooperation from China is key to putting together any meaningful punishment for the North as it is one of the five veto-holding permanent members of the UN Security Council and the main provider of food and fuel to the impoverished North.

China, the North's last-remaining major ally, has been reluctant to use its influence over Pyongyang for fear that pushing the regime too hard could result in instability in the North and hurt Chinese national interests.

Analysts say that China often increased pressure on the North in the past, especially when Pyongyang defied international appeals and carried out nuclear tests and other provocative acts, but China never went as far as to cause real pain to the North.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also urged the North to abide by its international obligations.

"The fifth nuclear test by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea has again threatened regional and international security," Ban said in his General Assembly address. "Meanwhile, the people's suffering and plight are worsening. I urge the leaders of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to change course and fulfill their obligations to their own people and to the family of nations." (Yonhap)