North Korea's representative to the United Nations on Wednesday said that Pyongyang is not bound by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) under any circumstance, state news agency KCNA reported.
Pyongyang left the NPT, which prohibits its non-nuclear-armed members from acquiring or developing nuclear weapons, in 2003.
In the statement carried by KCNA on Thursday, UN representative Kim Song said that pressure on North Korea by Western countries to make Pyongyang "fulfill the treaty obligations is a wanton violation of the spirit of the treaty and a total disregard of the purpose and principle of international law."
"I denounce and reject in the strongest tone the brigandish and shameless acts of certain countries including the U.S. which are taking issue with the DPRK's realistic and just access to nuclear weapons through the legal channels and exercise of its inherent defensive rights as a sovereign state," Kim added, using the acronym for North Korea's official name.
The statement was issued as the 11th Review Conference of the NPT is currently under way at the UN headquarters in New York.
Pyongyang is continuing to conduct regular missile tests and advance its nuclear programme, a commitment that leader Kim Jong Un has maintained despite ongoing international sanctions against the country.