Kim Jong-un
© AP/Korean News Service
North Korea can counter any nuclear threat, its representative told a conference on disarmament in Geneva. He warned the US against bringing its strategic assets to and around the Korean Peninsula. North Korea said it had made "absolutely the right choice" by boosting its nuclear capabilities.

Pyongyang's representative has urged the US to completely stop joint exercises with South Korea and "all nuclear war drills" in the region and has spoken out against US's military presence on the Korean Peninsula "under the pretext of the security of the Olympic Games. This is a dangerous act of throwing a wet blanket over the current positive atmosphere of inter-Korean relations," the representative said.

The US disarmament ambassador at the talks advocated for North Korea's denuclearization and further pressure on Pyongyang, saying "The US will not recognize North Korea as a nuclear weapon state."

Last week, Seoul and Pyongyang agreed on the North Korean team's participation in the Olympic Games, where the two neighbors will also have a joint hockey team. The move was discussed during the first bilateral talks in two years, widely seen as a positive sign amid heightened tensions in the region.