North Korea vows to bolster war defenses

PYONGYANG,  North Korea is vowing to strengthen its war defenses amid concerns the country may conduct a third nuclear test.

Citing U.S. hostility, Pyongyang's Foreign Ministry said Monday without elaborating that the country will "continue to strengthen its deterrence against all forms of war."

A ministry memorandum carried by the Korean Central News Agency urged the U.S. to dismantle a U.N. command that oversees an armistice signed at the close of the Korean War in 1953.

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North Korea claims the right to build atomic weapons to protect itself against U.S. threats. Monday's memorandum comes amid worries Pyongyang may follow a December rocket launch with a nuclear test.

Pyongyang carried out atomic tests in 2006 and 2009 weeks after being slapped with U.N. Security Council condemnation and sanctions for similar rocket launches.