North Korea has vowed it will increase its nuclear capabilities, the country’s foreign ministry announced on Monday. The bold statement by the communist country comes after diplomats at the recent G7 foreign ministers’ meeting demanded that North Korea halt its nuclear weapons program.

Officials from Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the High Representative of the European Union met last week in Quebec, Canada, from March 12 to March 14 to discuss geopolitical issues. At its conclusion, the foreign ministers issued a joint statement expressing their vision on several important matters, including Ukraine, the Middle East, Asia and the Indo-Pacific, Haiti, and Venezuela, among others. It included criticisms of North Korea’s regime and its military weapons.