North Korea Monday denounced the U.S. for having shipped ballistic missile parts to Taiwan, dismissing Washington's claim that the shipment was made mistakenly.

The U.S. Defense Department announced on March 26 that the U.S. mistakenly shipped to Taiwan four electrical fuses used for intercontinental ballistic missiles, but has since recovered them.

"It is not a mistake," Rodong Shinmun, the organ of the North's ruling Korean Workers' Party, said in a commentary. The newspaper claimed Washington, by sending the parts, intends to arm Taiwan with nuclear weapons so as to contain China.

The paper also accused the U.S. of failing to properly check its own nuclear proliferation.

SEOUL, April 7 (Yonhap)