North Korea on Tuesday blasted a recent report by the U.S. National Intelligence Council (NIC) that cited growing concerns surrounding Pyongyang's nuclear proliferation.

In an article carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), North Korea claimed allegations and concerns raised by the NIC were nothing more than sophistry and lies.

It said Washington is using a nonexistent threat to justify the deployment of its own nuclear arsenal and its so-called nuclear umbrella policy.

The NIC, which supports the director of national intelligence, released a 2030 Global Trend report on Dec. 10 that cited North Korea and Iran as key countries that can pose challenges to anti-nuclear proliferation efforts in the future.

The article said that North Korea, like other nuclear armed countries, has maintained a firm stance to guard against proliferation and has actively taken steps in this direction. The KCNA also said that Washington conducts nuclear attack exercises with South Korea every year and has played an integral role in helping Israel acquire nuclear weapons.

The media outlet said because of such a track record, it is the United States that has fueled nuclear proliferation. (Yonhap News)