North Korea on Sunday slammed the United States, South Korea and Japan for pushing to boost their trilateral military cooperation targeting the North, warning that the move is prompting urgent calls for the country to reinforce its military capability.
North Korea has long cited what it calls hostility by the United States and its allies as a reason to pursue a nuclear programme. Sunday's statement comes as North Korea's neighbours say the country is ready for its first nuclear test in five years as part of its provocative run of weapons tests this year.
"The prevailing situation more urgently calls for building up the country's defence to actively cope with the rapid aggravation of the security environment of the Korean Peninsula and the rest of the world," the North Korean Foreign Ministry said in a statement, without elaborating how it would boost its military capacity. The statement took issue with a trilateral meeting among the US, South Korean and Japanese leaders on the sidelines of a NATO summit last week.