US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice warned yesterday that the UN sanctions on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) are very strong and the international community as a whole will support its implementation.

Prior to her Asian trip, she told reporters at the State Department that the UN sanctions on the DPRK are "very strong" and "the world has reacted calmly and firmly" to DPRK's nuclear test last week.

Rice said the UN sanctions should be seen by Iran as a strong signal to abandon its nuclear ambitions, or face a rebuke from a united international community.

She said the proliferation of nuclear weapons is not only harmful to the United States but also harmful to DPRK's neighbors and other countries as well.

She believed that all countries especially the DPRK's neighbors would earnestly support the sanctions.

Rice is to start her trip to Japan, South Korea and China on Tuesday. "The purpose of my trip is to rally the support of our friends and allies" in the region, she said.