North Korea tells UN it is speeding up nuclear weapons programme

Pyongyang's envoy to the United Nations says buildup is to counter threat from hostile nuclear weapons states'

North Korea's UN envoy has said Pyongyang will accelerate a buildup of its nuclear weapons programme just days after it test-fired an intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time this year at a moment of rising tensions with the west.

Kim Song, North Korea's ambassador to the UN, said during a security council meeting on Monday that Pyongyang would accelerate the programme to counter any threat presented by hostile nuclear weapons states".