North Korea's recent missile test-launch was a legitimate act of self-defence under international law and U.S. criticism of it a "wanton violation of the sovereignty and dignity of the DPRK, a North Korean diplomat told the U.N. Conference on Disarmament on Tuesday.

"The DPRK will bolster its self-defence capabilities as long as the United States continues its hostile policies towards the DPRK and imposes nuclear threats and makes blackmail," North Korean diplomat Ju Yong Choi said.