Pyongyang, November 22 (KCNA) -- Kim Yo Jong, vice department director of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea, issued the following press statement on Tuesday:

At the prodding of the U.S., the UNSC held an open meeting on Nov. 21 in order to pull up the DPRK over the test-fire of its new-type intercontinental ballistic missile, Hwasongpho-17.

The UNSC has turned blind eyes to the very dangerous military drills of the U.S. and south Korea and their greedy arms buildup aiming at the DPRK and taken issue with the DPRK's exercise of its inviolable right to self-defence corresponding to them. This is evidently the application of double-standards.

Great irony is that as soon as the UNSC opening meeting was over, the U.S. vented its anger on failure in realizing its sinister intention while making public a disgusting "joint statement" together with such rabbles as Britain, France, Australia, Japan and south Korea, not concealing its bad mood.

It reminds one of a barking dog seized with fear.

The DPRK government strongly denounces such reckless moves of the U.S. and the group of reactionaries following it as a wanton violation of our sovereignty and a grave political provocation to drive the situation of the Korean peninsula to a new phase of crisis.

We will never tolerate anyone who slanders our exercise of the right to self-defence to protect the security of the state but will take the toughest counteraction to the last.

The U.S. should be mindful that no matter how desperately it may seek to disarm the DPRK, it can never deprive the DPRK of its right to self-defence and that the more hell-bent it gets on the anti-DPRK acts, it will face a more fatal security crisis.