Kim Yong Chol said the US has been pressuring North Korea in a "more crafty and vicious way" instead of heeding North Korea's call for Washington to adopt a new approach, adding that the US has been persistently pushing other countries to impose UN sanctions on North Korea.

The statement quoted Kim Yong Chol as saying he hopes that US-North Korean relations do not underscore that "there are permanent foes but no permanent friends".

The statement comes just days after North Korea asked South Korea to discuss removal of its facilities from the North's resort of Mount Kumgang, a key symbol of co-operation that Pyongyang recently criticised as "shabby" and "capitalist."

North Korea on Friday sent notices to the South's Unification Ministry, which handles issues between the two sides, and Hyundai Group, whose affiliate Hyundai Asan Corp built the resort facilities, asking for their demolition and seeking discussion through the exchange of documents, the ministry said.

Reuters