North Korea’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday that a series of missiles fired in recent days was a retaliatory measure for joint US-South Korean military exercises.
The ministry’s statement was issued in parallel with the meeting of the UN Security Council yesterday to discuss the launch of a medium-range missile flying over the territory of Japan.
The ministry argues that these firings were “a simple measure of retaliation against joint maneuvers by the Korean People’s Army by South Korea and the United States that increased military tensions on the Korean peninsula.” The two countries have increased their military maneuvers in the region in recent weeks, occasionally with the participation of Japan.
Pyongyang also criticized America’s decision to send the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, to that area for the second time in less than a month: “The DPRK (the country’s official abbreviation, ndr) sees that the US poses a serious threat to the aircraft carrier. to stability in and around the Korean peninsula by redeployment.”
The missile launch on Tuesday, which prompted evacuation orders in parts of Japan, triggered a wave of international condemnation. The United States and South Korea responded by firing a salvo of missiles into the sea today.
The communist country, led by Kim Jong Un, then fired two more short-range ballistic missiles, bringing the number of launches to six in less than two weeks.
North Korea has conducted a record number of weapons tests this year, and recently revised its laws, declaring its status as an “irreversible” nuclear power.
source: Noticias
