The head of North Korea’s rubber-stamp parliament took the podium at a U.N.-sponsored conference in Geneva to accuse the U.S. and ROK of preparing for “nuclear war,” reiterating the regime’s justification of nuclear armament as necessary for its self-defense.

During a speech at the Sixth World Conference of Speakers of Parliament on Wednesday, the chairman of the Supreme People’s Assembly (SPA) Pak In Chol claimed that “preparations of the United States and the ROK to actualize the nuclear war have entered the grave stage,” arguing that the DPRK needs “a peaceful and stable environment” to achieve economic prosperity for the “happiness of the people.”