TOKYO (Reuters) - North Korea warned Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday that he may soon see an "actual ballistic missile," while sharply criticized.
Pyongyang's attack on Abe comes two days after the isolated Asian country launched what it called "a system of multiple super-rocket launchers," while Seoul said two shells landed in the Sea of Japan, also known as the East Sea.
Abe said the missiles, attended by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, were "ballistic," noting that they violated UN resolutions.
"It can be said that Abe failed to distinguish between a missile and a multiple missile launcher system, despite seeing a report with photos," a North Korean foreign ministry official said in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency.
"Abe may see what an actual ballistic missile is, in the not-too-distant future, under his nose."
The official added that it would be better for his country to avoid dealing with Abe, adding that doing so with him would bring "shame." This is Pyongyang's second strong criticism of Abe in the past month. On Nov. 7, Pyongyang called Abe a "fool and evil" and vowed that it would not let him into its territory after condemning its recent missile test.
North Korea is under international sanctions over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs, which it says it needs to defend itself.
The nuclear negotiations between the United States and North Korea have been frozen since the Hanoi summit between US President Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un, which ended without agreement in February, while Pyongyang has since demanded Washington to change its approach by the end of the year.
North Korea has issued a series of increasingly assertive remarks in recent weeks as the deadline set for the United States until the end of the year for new bids nears completion.
Trump hinted that a fourth meeting with Kim could be held in a tweet earlier this month, which was met with a stinging response from North Korea, which indicated it was not interested in holding "zero-sum" summits.