Pyongyang, North Korea - North Korea on Tuesday slammed a joint statement by G7 foreign ministers that criticized the country's nuclear program, arguing the grouping of rich democracies should be "dismantled immediately".

In a statement issued last week, the top diplomats of the US, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Britain, and the EU reiterated their longstanding call for the "complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula".

The G7 foreign ministers also demanded that Pyongyang abandon its nuclear weapons, and strongly condemned recent arms transfers from North Korea to Russia, asking the two countries to "immediately cease all such activities".

North Korea last year declared itself an "irreversible" nuclear power and has repeatedly said it will never give up its nuclear program, which the regime views as essential for its survival.

China US and Philippines continue war games with mock assault on Chinese forces

Jo Chol Su, a high-ranking official at Pyongyang's foreign ministry, said he "resolutely" rejects and "most strongly" condemns the recent G7 statement, calling it "groundless".

He said members of the G7, especially the US, have "disgraceful records by doing considerable harm to international peace and security", and that the group "has lost the justification for its existence".

The "G7, the remnant of the Cold War, should be dismantled immediately," Jo said, according to Pyongyang's state-run Korean Central News Agency. He accused the group of being a "peace strangler, confrontation maniac and nuclear war merchant".

The growing military cooperation between Russia and North Korea has been a source of concern for Ukraine and its allies.

On Monday, US and South Korean defense chiefs updated a key military agreement for the first time in a decade.