North Korea: "Test Launch Not Intended to Target or Signal the US... Legitimate Self-Defense of a Sovereign State" (Comprehensive)

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] North Korea criticized the United States and the UN Security Council regarding the convening of the Security Council over its missile test launch, claiming it as an "inherent and legitimate exercise of the sovereign nation's right to self-defense."

The spokesperson for the North Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated in response to a question from a reporter of the Korean Central News Agency that "the test launch of the new submarine-launched ballistic missile conducted by the National Defense Science Institute is part of normal activities to carry out a mid- to long-term national defense science development plan," according to a report on the 21st.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, "Our deterrence is not aimed at any specific country or force but is intended to prevent war itself and protect national sovereignty. The United States and South Korea are excluded from our primary targets," adding, "This test launch was not conducted with the United States in mind or as a target, and since it is a project planned long ago purely for national defense, the United States has no need to worry or be concerned about it."

Nevertheless, it claimed that the United States is "misleading our legitimate exercise of self-defense rights as a 'violation of UN Security Council resolutions' and a 'threat' to regional peace and stability by using the White House spokesperson, State Department spokesperson, and Indo-Pacific Command," and stated, "We are very concerned about the abnormal reaction of the United States to the inherent and legitimate exercise of self-defense rights by a sovereign nation."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs pointed out, "It is a clear double standard to criticize us for developing and testing the same weapons systems that the United States possesses or is developing," adding, "This only adds to doubts about their 'sincerity' in claiming not to be hostile toward the Democratic People's Republic of Korea."

This appears to be aimed at the recent visit of Suh Hoon, Director of the National Security Office of the Blue House, to the United States, where he stated that he "reconfirmed the United States' sincerity in having no hostile policy toward North Korea."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated, "If our normal and legitimate exercise of sovereignty is not interfered with, tensions on the Korean Peninsula will never arise," and warned, "If the United States and its followers insist on choosing wrong actions, it could act as a catalyst causing more severe and serious consequences."