North Korea warns U.S. for 'hostility' toward nuclear program

May 2 (UPI) -- North Korea released a series of statements Sunday that warned the United States of consequences for its continued "hostile policy" towards its nuclear program and accused South Korea of carrying out "intolerable provocation."

The statements were released ahead of a planned meeting between U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Washington D.C., later this month and after Biden highlighted North Korea's nuclear threat in his first joint address before Congress on Wednesday.

One statement said Biden made a "big blunder" when he called North Korea's and Iran's nuclear programs "a serious threat to America's security and world security."

"His statement clearly reflects his intent to keep enforcing hostile policy toward the DPRK as it had been done by the U.S. for over half a century," said Kwong Jong Gun, director general of the Department of U.S. Affairs at North Korea's Foreign Ministry.

During the speech, Biden declared he would work with allies to address the nuclear threats with "diplomacy and stern deterrence."

North Korea responded Sunday, warning that it could counter with "corresponding measures" and the United States would face a "crisis beyond control in the near future" if it remains hostile against North Korea's nuclear goals.

Another statement accused the U.S. State Department of "political chicanery" in a statement last week describing North Korea as "one of the most repressive and totalitarian states in the world."

In its statement, the North Korean Foreign Ministry said the United States "has no right to even discuss human rights."

"The U.S., where innocent people lose their lives to social inequality and racism every day, where 580,000 people died of novel coronavirus, is itself a human rights wasteland," the agency said.

The response from North Korea also comes after White House press secretary Jen Psaki said Friday that the United States has completed a policy review on North Korea and plans to pursue a "calibrated practical approach" to diplomacy.

Psaki contrasted the Biden administration's approach to the Trump administration's goal of pursuing a grand bargain or the Obama administration's posture of "strategic patience."

A third statement attributed to Kim Yo Jong, the sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, threatened consequences against South Korea for sending balloons into North Korean territory using balloons.

Kim said North Korea could not conceal its irritation over a group of activist North Korean defectors sending balloons carrying money and anti-North Korea propaganda into the territory.

"We regard the maneuvers committed by the human wastes in the south as a serious provocation against our state and will look into corresponding action," she said.