North Korean diplomat tells U.N. that United States is real aggressor

Ballistic rocket is seen launching during a drill by the Hwasong artillery units of the KPA Strategic Force, July 2016. KCNA/via REUTERS

GENEVA (Reuters) - North Korea's recent missile tests are a legitimate act of self-defence by a "fully-fledged nuclear power" and are not against international law, North Korean diplomat Ju Yong Chol told the U.N. Conference on Disarmament on Tuesday.

"It is the United States' hostile policy and its aggressive joint military drills, nuclear threats and military build-up around the Korean peninsula that really aggravates the situation on the Korean peninsula and the region and which compels the DPRK to also up its nuclear deterrence," he said.