On Monday, North Korea accused the United States of engaging in a "hideous criminal act" undermining the United Nations, and called recent steps taken by the US "shameless," Agence France-Presse reported.
What did North Korea say?
In a statement carried by the state-run Korean Central News Agency, North Korea's mission to the United Nations in New York strongly criticised reported plans to hold a briefing on its alleged sanctions violations.
In the statement, Pyongyang said, "What should be questioned and openly discussed in the UN as the most important pending issue is the hideous criminal act of the US." It added, "The US despises the existence of the UN itself."
While not specifying which act they were referring to, the statement from North Korea comes at a time when Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was captured from his residence in Caracas by US forces over a week ago.
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That operation represents a nightmare scenario for North Korea's leadership, which has long feared a so-called decapitation strike and has accused Washington of trying to remove the regime from power, the mission said.
The mission also said Washington was acting irrationally and misusing the United Nations platform to advance its own geopolitical interests, adding that such behaviour should not be allowed.
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'Illegal and immoral acts'
The North Korean mission accused the United States of "shameless, illegal and immoral acts." The statement added that the US is "trying to make a mockery of the UN arena for unilateral and selfish purposes."
Last week, US President Donald Trump announced the exit of the United States from 66 international organisations, on the grounds that those were not serving the best interests of his nation. Currently, North Korea is under a number of sanctions from the United Nations Security Council for its nuclear programme.
