The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has decried the stalled state of its nuclear standoff with the United States and told the international community on Monday that the fault lies with Washington's "political and military provocations."

"It depends on the U.S.," DPRK Ambassador Kim Song said, whether the negotiations "will become a window of opportunity or an occasion that will hasten the crisis."

Speaking at the UN General Assembly's major annual gathering, he complained that the U.S. and the Republic of Korea (ROK) are failing to follow through on separate summit pledges.

"The situation on the Korean Peninsula has not come out of the vicious cycle of increased tension, which is entirely attributable to the political and military provocations perpetrated by the U.S.," the ambassador said.

Negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang have apparently been frozen since a summit between U.S. president Donald Trump and DPRK leader Kim Jong Un broke down in February, though they met in June at the Korean border in an effort to push things forward. Trump became the first U.S. president to set foot on the soil of the DPRK.

Trump said last week that another summit meeting with Kim "could happen soon" but didn't elaborate.

Pyongyang wants relief from crushing sanctions imposed over its push for nuclear-armed missiles that can viably target the U.S. mainland, but Washington wants stronger nuclear disarmament steps first.

Perhaps hoping for a thaw, both nations have struck more harmonious tones on the world stage than at the General Assembly two years ago, when Trump belittled Kim as "Rocket Man" and threatened to "totally destroy" his country. In response, the DPRK issued a rare direct statement from Kim, vowing to "tame the mentally deranged U.S. dotard with fire."

In advance of Monday's speech, DPRK's foreign ministry said Friday that the U.S. had failed to follow through on summit agreements but that the country was placing hope in the U.S. president's "wise option and bold decision."

The DPRK complains that the U.S. has boosted sanctions and resumed U.S.-ROK military drills that Pyongyang has long decried. DPRK's UN ambassador called on Seoul on Monday to "put an end to the big – power worship and the policy of dependence on foreign forces.”