North Korea has urged the United States to replace the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean War with a peace treaty.

In a Tuesday commentary, the North's official daily Rodong Shinmun blasted U.S. Forces Korea Commander Leon LaPorte for slandering Pyongyang's "sincere efforts" to establish a peace treaty for the Korean Peninsula.

In an interview with the Korea Herald on August 17th, LaPorte defended the armistice by saying it has served as a successful means for the Koreas to coexist and has reduced tension and hostility on the peninsula over the past 50 years.

The North's paper called LaPorte's remarks an expression of Washington's hostile policy towards Pyongyang.