The key to resolving all the issues between the countries lies in the US giving up its hostile policies toward North Korea, Kim also noted.

Seoul said the remarks showed North Korea has no intention to give up its nuclear ambition, stressing that South Korea, the US and Japan will work toward the "complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization" of North Korea.

"The reiteration of North Korea having zero intention to give up its nuclear weapons openly shows the country's recklessness at a time the international community is intensifying pressure on North Korea in link with the country's recent nuclear and missile provocations and use of chemical weapons as well as human rights violations," South Korea's foreign ministry spokesman Cho June-hyuck said in a press briefing.

Cho referred to US State Secretary Rex Tillerson's upcoming Tokyo-Seoul visit, saying that it will be a watershed moment for devising joint North Korea policies among the three close partners.

"Currently as the new US administration's review of North Korea policy comes close to the final stage, South Korea, the US and Japan are in close consultation to come up with a joint way forward on North Korean issues," Cho said.

The three countries' foreign ministers have agreed to align their policies toward the CVID of North Korea's nuclear program, he said citing the ministers' joint statement issued after a meeting on Feb. 16 in Germany.

Tillerson will embark on a three-nation visit this week, which will bring him to Japan, South Korea and then China. "In-depth discussion will be carried out in order to set up joint strategy and policy on North Korea," the spokesman said of the Asia visit.

Holding a press conference in New York on Monday, the North Korean deputy ambassador also refuted allegations of Pyongyang's involvement in the recent assassination of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's half brother.

Kim Jong-nam, the eldest son of late North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, was killed at Kuala Lumpur International Airport on Feb. 13 after two women rubbed VX nerve agent on his face. The Malaysian police concluded that several North Korean men, including a Kuala Lumpur-based diplomat, were behind the killing.

The ambassador accused South Korea and the US of falsely laying the blame on North Korea, saying it is politically driven to taint the image of the country and its socialist system.

The ultimate goal of the US is to spur the international community's hatred toward North Korea, Kim also claimed.

Criticizing the UN Security Council's sanctions on Pyongyang, he also said they are legally groundless and in violation of North Korea's sovereign rights.

Referring to North Korea's recent series of ballistic missile tests, he also said they are fired in self-defense against the on-going joint military exercise between Seoul and Washington, which he said is a rehearsal for a pre-emptive nuclear attack on North Korea. (Yonhap)