North Korea said Saturday its missile tests are for self-defense in response to U.S. military threats and do not pose a danger to air traffic or neighboring countries.
The statement by a spokesman for the country's National Aviation Administration came after North Korea conducted its sixth round of ballistic missile launches since late September, including one that flew over Japan for the first time since 2017.
The missile testing is "regular and planned self-defensive step for defending the country's security and the regional peace from the U.S. direct military threats that have lasted for more than half a century," the state-run Korean Central News Agency quoted the unnamed spokesman as saying.
He said in the statement the tests do not "pose any threat and harm to the safety of not only civil aviation but also the neighboring countries and region," according to KCNA.
The statement was released after the International Civil Aviation Organization recently condemned North Korea's continued ballistic missile launches over or near international air routes.
