North Korea's Kim Jong Un blames US for tensions in region

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un on Monday said that the United States did nothing to make him believe that the country is no longer hostile towards North Korea, while blaming it for the tensions in the region, state media reported.

Kim in his speech at the opening ceremony of the Defense Development Exhibition titled "Self-Defence-2021" in Pyongyang, the capital city of North Korea stressed North Korea's readiness to continue with weapons development to increase deterrence in the nation's self-defence, Kyodo News reported citing Korean Central News Agency.

The country marked the 76th founding anniversary of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea on Sunday without holding a military parade.

In his speech, Kim said the US signalled frequently that it is not hostile to North Korea, but there are no actions by the US, which lead Pyongyang to believe that is the case.

This suggests that North Korea is not ready to engage in dialogue with the US any time soon after Kim criticised the US for raising regional tensions.

Kim also warned South Korea, by saying if Seoul continues to raise issues with Pyongyang's weapons development, it will be met with "powerful action", Kyodo News reported citing Korean Central News Agency.

He further said that weapons development is "a prerequisite and vital state affairs that had to be maintained all the time to increase defence capabilities," the report stated.

( With inputs from ANI )