by Joyce and Lee
SEOUL (Reuters) – North Korea said on Saturday that the ballistic missile test launches carried out in the past few days were intended to defend against the direct military threat posed by the United States in the region and that they would not had not undermined the security of neighboring countries.
North Korea fired six ballistic missiles in 12 days, including an intercontinental launch that flew over Japan.
“Our missile launch tests are part of our self-defense strategy to ensure our country’s security and regional peace in the face of direct military threats from the United States,” a spokesman for the administration said. aviation, quoted by state media KCNA.
The missile tests “did not constitute a threat or harm to the security of civil aviation or to the security of neighboring countries and regions”, he added, adding that the government had taken security into account. civil aviation well in advance.
This message comes following the condemnations of the International Civil Aviation Organization for which the firing of North Korean missiles had posed a serious risk to the safety of civil air traffic, according to KCNA.
The North Korean Ministry of Defense said it is examining “carefully the evolution of the current situation, which is very worrying”, in the face of the joint maritime exercises started on Friday by South Korea and the United States with an American aircraft carrier. nuclear powered.
These joint military maneuvers took place off the South Korean east coast, the South Korean army said on Friday, stressing the will of the two allies to strengthen their operational capacities in order to be able to respond to “any provocation” from Pyongyang. .
The United States also announced new sanctions on Friday.
(Report by Joyce Lee, French version Caroline Pailliez)
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