North Korea Denounces 'Forum of Lies' at U.N.

North Korea's foreign minister on Saturday berated the U.N. Security Council as a forum of lies and double standards, in the first U.N. address by a top Pyongyang official in 15 years.

Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong called for reforming the U.N. Security Council, which has imposed tough sanctions on North Korea over its suspect nuclear program and missile launches.

"The Security Council should no longer serve as a forum for telling lies," Ri told the U.N. General Assembly.

The foreign minister accused the top body of turning a blind eye to civilian deaths in Gaza from Israeli attacks while punishing Syria over the conflict on its territory.

He said the top body was "showcasing the extreme manifestation of the double standard" and said no action should be taken against Syria "under the disguise of counter-terrorism," in a reference to U.S.-led airstrikes against jihadists.

The foreign minister assailed the United States over joint exercises it held with South Korea in August and recounted that the 15-member council refused to consider Pyongyang's request to suspend the war exercises.

Turning to North Korea's nuclear program, the foreign minister asserted that U.S. "hostile policy" had led to Pyongyang's decision to develop nuclear weapons.

"The nuclear deterrent of the DPRK is not intended to threaten or attack others," he said. "Neither is it a bargaining chip to be exchanged for something else."

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi earlier called for a resumption of six-party talks on North Korea's nuclear program, in his address to the 193-nation Assembly.

A report this month by the U.N. nuclear watchdog raised alarm over North Korea, saying the reactor at the Yongbyon nuclear site may be operational again.

The reactor is capable of giving North Korea, which has carried out three nuclear tests, six kilos (13 pounds) of plutonium a year -- enough for one nuclear bomb, experts say.

Already under crippling sanctions since 2006, Pyongyang was hit by fresh U.N. punitive measures in March 2013 over its third nuclear test.

The first address by a top North Korean official to the United Nations in 15 years was delivered amid state media reports that leader Kim Jong-Un was suffering a bout of ill health.