North Korea says it will not give up its nuclear deterrent but instead will bolster it in order to combat what it claims are the threats posed to national security by the U.S. and South Korea.

Speaking before the U.N. General Assembly in New York on Wednesday, North Korean Vice Foreign Minister Pak Kil-yon said that as long as the U.S nuclear aircraft carriers sail around the seas of North Korea, Pyongyang’s nuclear deterrent can never be abandoned but should be strengthened further.

Pak said that his country's nuclear weapons are not to attack or intimidate others but for purposes of self-defense.

He said, however, that as a responsible nuclear power and on an equal footing with other nuclear states, Pyongyang will take part in global efforts for nonproliferation and safe management of nuclear material.

Pak also blasted South Korea for what he says has been Seoul’s failure to abide by joint agreements inked in 2000 and 2007. He also claimed that the South has damaged inter-Korean relations with what he says is Seoul’s confrontational plan for unification.

On the sinking of South Korea’s “Cheonan” warship in March, Pak said that Seoul's investigation results on the incident blaming the North have caused criticism at home and abroad. He said the South and the U.S. are using the incident to threaten the North by mobilizing large-scale military forces on and around the Korean Peninsula.