He said that the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula was late President Kim Il Sung's last instruction and an ultimate goal of the DPRK.

"The DPRK has exerted every possible effort to settle the nuclear issue through dialogue and negotiations, prompted by its sincere desire to realize the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula," he said.

The DPRK would "feel no need" to possess a single nuclear weapon if the United States "dropped its hostile policy toward the DPRK" and "confidence" was built between the two countries, said the spokesman.

As the DPRK had already pulled out of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), it was no longer bound by international law, he said, adding that it was "an indication of the disturbing moves" by the United States to "impose collective sanctions" on the DPRK through the U.N. Security Council.

The DPRK was ready for dialogue and consultation, the spokesman said. But the DPRK would continue to "take physical countermeasures" if the United States increased pressure upon it.

The DPRK's official Korean Central News Agency announced on Monday that the country had conducted a successful underground nuclear test, which has drawn the universal opposition of the international community.

The issue of the DPRK's reported nuclear test is still under discussion in the UN Security Council.