North Korea said on Saturday that the latest missile tests, described as “serious threats” by Washington, Seoul and Tokyo, were a “self-defense” measure against the United States.
North Korea’s missile tests have increased in recent days. The communist country conducted six launches in less than two weeks, the last of which was two ballistic missile launches on Thursday.
Two days ago, on Tuesday, Pyongyang fired a medium-range ballistic missile flying over Japan, triggering an evacuation alert on its territory.
The testing of the missiles is “an orderly and planned self-defense measure aimed at ensuring the country’s security and regional peace in the face of more than half a century of direct military threats from the United States,” said the North Korean Civil Aviation Agency. According to the state news agency KCNA.
State media released the statement after the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), which held its annual meeting in Montreal, condemned on Friday Pyongyang’s missiles launched in recent months as a threat to civil aviation.
North Korea views the resolution passed by this body as “a political provocation by the United States and its vassal forces to violate North Korea’s sovereignty,” which stands for North Korea’s official name.
“Serious Threat”
The United States, South Korea and Japan have intensified their joint military exercises in the region in recent weeks, and on Thursday conducted new maneuvers involving a US Navy destroyer from the USS carrier strike group. Reagan runs on nuclear power.
The launches come in a record year in which North Korea has declared leader Kim Jong Un an “irreversible” nuclear power, ending the possibility of denuclearization talks.
The United States on Friday imposed sanctions on companies and individuals in Asia accused of supplying fuel to Pyongyang in violation of United Nations sanctions, according to the State Department.
In a statement, the US State Department added that Washington, Tokyo and Seoul attended a trilateral meeting on the same day and agreed to “continue to closely coordinate short- and long-term responses, including with UN allies and partners.”
He said Pyongyang’s recent missile tests “posed a serious threat to peace and security in the region”.
“provocatives”
In another statement, the North Korean regime said it “takes very seriously the extremely worrying development of the current situation”, citing the presence of the aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan during maneuvers in the region.
The KCNA news agency said these maneuvers were “extremely provocative and threatening”.
Analysts say the communist country is taking advantage of the United Nations blockade to accelerate its weapons program amid tensions between Washington, Moscow and Beijing.
South Korean and US intelligence services have been warning for months about a possible new nuclear test by Pyongyang for the first time since 2017.
source: Noticias
