North Korea tells UN: No choice but to accelerate building its self-defense. North Korea's United Nations envoy accused the United States and South Korea of pushing the Korean peninsula closer to the brink of nuclear war. As a result, North Korea stated that it had no choice but to further accelerate a build-up of its self-defense capabilities. The statement underscores the heightened tensions in the region and the challenges faced by diplomatic efforts to denuclearize the Korean peninsula.