Washington, Tokyo and Seoul consider it a threat to peace and security
North Korea: Our missile tests respond to US military threats
The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan during its presence off the east coast of South Korea.
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North Korea defended the latest series of its missile tests, stressing that they were "self-defense and a legitimate response to direct US military threats", while Washington, Tokyo and Seoul considered these tests a serious threat to peace and security in the region.
"The missile test launch by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is a regular and planned self-defense measure," the North's civil aviation agency said, in a statement carried by the official news agency.
She added, "The goal of this test is to defend the country's security and regional peace against direct military threats from the United States, which have been going on for more than half a century." The agency did not specify which missile launch it was talking about.
North Korea had conducted six missile launches in less than two weeks, the last of which was two ballistic missile launches last Thursday, and two days before it launched a medium-range ballistic missile, which flew over Japan, forcing some residents to take cover.
On the other hand, Seoul, Tokyo and Washington intensified their joint military exercises in recent weeks, and conducted new exercises, last Thursday, with the participation of a US Navy destroyer belonging to the USS Ronald Reagan carrier strike group.
The North Korean missile launches came in a year that saw a record number of weapons tests by Pyongyang.
And the United States announced, the day before yesterday, the imposition of economic sanctions on two people and three entities accused of participating in the illegal export of oil to North Korea.
The US State Department said in a statement that Washington, Tokyo and Seoul held a meeting and agreed to continue closely coordinating their responses in the short and long term, including with allies and UN partners.
The ministry stressed that the recent missile launches from Pyongyang represent a serious threat to peace and security in the region.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a United Nations agency specializing in dealing with matters related to international air navigation, described North Korea's continued firing of ballistic missiles over or near international air routes, without prior notification, as a serious threat to the safety of civil aviation. .
For its part, North Korea confirmed that its missile tests did not pose any danger or harm to the safety of civil aviation of neighboring countries, and made it clear that its missile activities were aimed at countering US military threats, and criticized the move by the International Civil Aviation Organization.
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North Korea's missile launches within two weeks.
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