North Korea began its stint as chair of a U.N. forum on nuclear disarmament by defying criticism of the country’s continued weapons development, asserting that it is “still at war with the United States.”

The pariah state took the helm of the U.N. Conference on Disarmament earlier this week, amid outrage from non-government organizations that the development will “undermine” the credibility of the U.N.

But other members of the forum elected to participate rather than walk out, using the first plenary of North Korea’s term in Geneva to protest Pyongyang’s arms advancement. 

After North Korean Ambassador Tae