The United States has strongly condemned threatening remarks made by the North Korean ambassador to the U.N. over the Cheonan incident.

U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley said in a news conference Monday that recent remarks by North Korea’s U.N. Ambassador Sin Son-ho are "the same kind of provocative behavior" typical of North Korea.

Crowley said that it is important for North Korea to take stock of its provocative actions and cease its belligerent behavior.

When asked to comment on Pyongyang's reported unauthorized airing of Seoul's FIFA World Cup signal, he said it was "characteristic" of North Korea to eschew normal relationships with its neighbors.