Member countries of the United Nations on Thursday urged the Security Council to consider referring North Korea to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for crimes against humanity as alleged in a UN inquiry report released earlier this year.
"Now that the US hostile policy with an aim to invade our republic under the guise of human rights has become apparent, the idea of denuclearizing the Korean peninsula itself is no longer valid," the North's foreign ministry spokesman said on KCNA.
"Our effort to strengthen our defensive military power including nuclear power will be doubly stepped up in every way," the spokesman said in a statement.
A UN Commission of Inquiry report published in February detailed wide-ranging abuses in North Korea, including prison camps, systematic torture, starvation and killings comparable to Nazi-era atrocities, Reuters reported.
It is unlikely to lead to action in the International Criminal Court at The Hague, which looks at serious abuses like genocide and other crimes against humanity, because China would likely use its veto power to block it.
North Korea has conducted three nuclear tests and is believed to have materials for up to a dozen atomic weapons but there is no independent assessment that it has mastered the technology to mount a warhead on a missile.