North Korea's ambassador to the United Nations blamed the "growing hostility" of the United States for his regime's nuclear weapons buildup and warned that ongoing U.S.-South Korea naval exercises could drive the countries to the "brink of war."
"The security environment of the Korean Peninsula is now caught in a vicious cycle of tensions and confrontation due to the growing hostility of the United States and its following forces against the DPRK," Ambassador Kim Song said Monday in an address to the U.N. General Assembly.
South Korea and the United States began four days of joint naval drills Monday featuring the nuclear-powered USS Ronald Reagan aircraft carrier and its strike group.
Pyongyang has regularly condemned joint exercises on the Korean Peninsula, characterizing them as a rehearsal for an invasion. On Monday, Kim said that they were the cause of "serious concerns."
