Second Vice Foreign Minister Kang In-sun urged North Korea to return to denuclearization talks and to cease its nuclear and missile programs, the foreign ministry said Tuesday.

Kang made the remark during her speech at the high-level segment of the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva on Monday, saying the North's illegal nuclear and missile programs are the "most urgent tasks" to address for international peace and security.

"North Korea's nuclear and missile obsession pose an existential threat to the disarmament and nonproliferation regime, and over the past few years, the North has fired more than 100 ballistic missiles in flagrant violation of UN Security Council resolutions," she said.

"It is worth noting that the North, which is the only country to have conducted a nuclear test in the 21st century, is shameless enough to brag about it," she added.

She also warned that Pyongyang could carry out a seventh nuclear test "whenever it wants."

Meanwhile, representatives from Cuba and North Korea also attended the session.

Earlier this month, South Korea established diplomatic relations with Cuba in what observers view as a harsh diplomatic blow to the North that has long boasted of its close ties with Havana. (Yonhap)