North Korea has reiterated plans to reject international calls for denuclearization and instead further strengthen its defense power.

At a session of the United Nations-sponsored Conference on Disarmament on Wednesday, Ju Yong-chol, a counselor at the North Korean mission in Geneva, said his country sternly rejects denuclearization.

The comments came in response to calls from the European Union and Japan for the North's complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization.

Stressing that reinforcing a nation's defense power is a sovereign right that cannot be subject to external criticism, the envoy said Pyongyang will not make compromises on self-defense and will further develop deterrence.

He then accused the U.S. of violating the regime's security interests through joint military drills with allies and the deployment of strategic assets to the region, leaving the North with no choice but to bolster its defense capabilities.