The Democratic People's Republic of Korea's ambassador to the U.N., So Se Pyong, says his country will pursue its nuclear and missile programs, in defiance of the United States and its allies. He also denounced the large-scale US-South Korean military exercises currently taking place.

"If the United States continues, then we have to make the counter measures also, as I told you. So, we have to develop and we have to make more deterrence, nuclear deterrence," Pyong.

The ambassador said that there was now a state of "semi-war" on the divided peninsula. He also said that the opportunity for denuclearisation of the peninsula has now gone. In January, the DPRK conducted a fourth nuclear test. A month later, it launched a long-range rocket. And on Friday, the South Korean military said Pyongyang had fired a ground-to-air missile into eastern waters. The short-range missile was launched from the eastern region and flew about 100 kilometers.