Terry's remarks came as Pyongyang fired several short-range missiles into the East Sea, hours after the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a new set of sanctions against North Korea in response to the nuclear test and satellite launch it conducted earlier this year.
"I think that a greater provocation [from North Korea] is forthcoming, right down to another nuclear test. This is entirely predictable and expected," Terry said.
Referring to the sanctions the UN slapped on North Korea on Thursday, she said that Pyongyang certainly "did not expect such a level of response from the international community."
She specifically pointed to the fact that the sanctions remain the only mechanism that helps contain the North's nuclear ambitions.
"The only stick that the global community can come up with is sanctions," she pointed out.
It also prohibits the sale of luxury goods, conventional weapons and aviation fuel, including rocket fuel. The restrictions also ban North Korea's export of coal, iron, gold, titanium and rare natural minerals.
Shortly after the UN Security Council issued its decision to expand sanctions, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un stated that North Korea’s nuclear warheads needed to be ready to be used at any time.
