Seoul - Saba:
North Korea called on the United States on Sunday to stop threatening other countries militarily if it is concerned about its own territorial security.
"Ensuring the US's territorial security requires abandoning threats and hostile attempts against other countries," the head of the North's defense ministry's policy bureau said in a statement carried by the Korean Central News Agency.
The statement also accused the US military of exaggerating what it called the "North Korean threat" to justify a massive arms buildup, according to South Korea's Yonhap News Agency.
The North Korean statement criticized statements by US military officials, describing them as "provocative," indicating that they hinted at the possibility of war with Pyongyang.
The statement described Washington's recent intercontinental ballistic missile test as "an example of double standards," considering it "illogical to describe US actions as defensive while Pyongyang's actions are considered a threat."
The statement added: "The unreasonable military threat, blackmail, and display of military force by America have escalated and continually increased the external threat to the American mainland."
The North Korean statement added that "Washington bears responsibility for the escalating external threat to its territory, while Pyongyang is making continuous and practical efforts to develop a war deterrent against the security instability resulting from the US nuclear buildup."
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