North Korean Premier Choe Yong-rim says Pyongyang will seek to advance efforts to unite the two Koreas by entering a new phase of developing inter-Korean relations.

Choe made the remark during a convention on Thursday, just one day before North Korea will mark the 63th anniversary of its government's founding.

The premier was quoted as saying by key North Korea media, including the Korean Central News Agency, that the South-North confrontation continues on the Korean Peninsula due to South Korean and the U.S.’s anti-North plots and new schemes to provoke a war.

Choe added that leader Kim Jong-il had reached significant achievements in terms of the North’s relations with China and Russia by visiting the two countries this year. He also said that the North’s Workers’ Party of Korea Central Military Commission must be protected both politically and ideologically.