North Korea, ruled by Kim Jong Un, has been under sanctions for "half a century" but the communist state survived by placing an emphasis on juche or "self-sufficiency", he said. His country wanted a forum set up to examine the "legality and legitimacy of the sanctions regime".
Meanwhile, North Korea's latest missile launch ended in failure yesterday, the US and South Korean militaries said, three days after the North claimed a major breakthrough in its rocket development programme.
The reported launch failure comes as the North is angrily reacting to ongoing annual US-South Korean military drills that it views as an invasion rehearsal.
Earlier this month, North Korea fired four ballistic missiles that landed in waters off Japan, triggering strong protests from Seoul and Tokyo.
The American military detected what it assessed as a failed North Korean missile launch yesterday morning, the US Pacific Command said in a statement. It said the missile "appears to have exploded within seconds of launch".
South Korea's Defence Ministry said it also believes the launch from the eastern coastal town of Wonsan ended in failure.
