PYONGYANG - The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) on Wednesday urged the United States to sign a peace treaty to replace the 1953 armistice, in a bid to build long-lasting peace on the Korean Peninsula.

In a statement released by state news agency KCNA, a spokesman for the DPRK Foreign Ministry said Pyongyang reaffirms its stance to replace the armistice agreement following the end of the 1950-53 Korean War with a peace treaty, in order to defuse tension and create peace on the peninsula.

At the 70th UN General Assembly concluded late September, DPRK Foreign Minister Ri Su Yong underscored the urgent need to sign a peace treaty in place of the existing armistice.

"The evil cycle of escalation of tension will repeat itself and the situation leading to the brink of a war will be unavoidable as long as the state of armistice persists on the peninsula," the spokesman said.

"A fundamental way of putting this serious situation under control is for the DPRK and the US to scrap the outdated AA and sign a new peace treaty as early as possible to build durable peace-keeping mechanism," the spokesman added.

The DPRK urges the United States to "part with its anachronistic policy" and "boldly make a policy switchover," in which case the DPRK is open for constructive dialogue and will help Washington "clear its security concerns" on the peninsula, according to the spokesman.

The spokesman said a message about this proposal has been sent via an official channel to the US side and that a US response to it is expected.

The two Koreas are still technically at war because the 1950-53 Korean War was ended with an armistice, not a peace treaty.