The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), at a meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), harshly criticized the U.S. nuclear threat on the Korean Peninsula, and defended its recent nuclear test, according to a statement released to the media Tuesday.
"The United States has more than 1,000 pieces of nuclear weapons deployed for action in south Korea and escalates the tension on the Korean Peninsula by staging large-scale nuclear war exercises annually," said the statement, which is presented by the DPRK delegation to the ongoing NAM ministerial meeting.
The U.S. nuclear threat against the DPRK has its roots in hostile policy it pursues, the statement said, adding "the acute DPRK-U.S. confrontation on the Korean Peninsula was sparked off by the unlawful and outrageous high-handedness of the United States."
The statement defended DPRK's recent nuclear test by insisting that the country "was compelled" to possess nuclear deterrence for self-defense.
The DPRK conducted its second nuclear test, which was underground, on May 25, three years after its first test in 2006.
On June 12, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution condemning "in the strongest terms" the May nuclear test by DPRK and imposing new sanctions.
Resolution 1874 demanded the DPRK "not conduct any further nuclear test or any launch using ballistic missile technology" and urged the isolated country to come back to the six-party talks without preconditions.